A Museum of Time Lords
by Diego Varen
Summary: In another universe, a powerful tyrant has plans to rule the cosmos, each and every single one of them. Can the Doctor, as well as four of his past selves and their companions stop them? Pilot for my version of the Specials and a 45th Anniversary fan fic.
1. Prologue

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* * *

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**Doctor** **Who**

**A Museum of Time Lords**

* * *

**_Prologue_**

_The Master Plan_

In the dark sky of space, a fireball-like planet could be seen, whilst billions of stars shone brightly surrounding it. This brilliant and rather beautiful view could be seen, from the comfortable throne room of the large vessel, the _Iron Fist_. Cothdorte, the ship's proud owner was currently admiring this view and nothing would disturb him from his favourite pastime.

Unfortunately, disturbances would usually occur, whether Cothdorte wanted them to or not, as he heard a noise from behind him. He swivelled around in his comfy chair, to see who had decided to disturb him at this time.

"Oh it's you," Cothdorte spat, as he looked upon who had walked in.

It was his personal android, SOL-3 (SOL stood for Servant of Life and the number indicated that the android was the third model). He had been named after the code name (which was also SOL-3) for planet Earth.

With Cothdorte's words, he didn't seem too pleased and that was saying something for an android.

"Of course, my lord, it is as you so put it, me," the android replied spitefully.

Cothdorte sighed. He hated it when anyone disturbed him, whilst he wasn't working. It wasn't very often that he had any spare time to enjoy himself and he didn't want work to enter into his non-working hours.

"Why are you here, SOL?" Cothdorte asked, as he gazed upon the rusty android.

For his own android's sake, Cothdorte hoped that it was important. If it weren't, he would have full pleasure in taking SOL apart, piece-by-piece.

"I'm afraid I have some rather bad news," SOL explained, "A planet is about to merge this universe and another universe together."

"I know," Cothdorte told the android, "I intended it to happen."

SOL's crimson coloured eyes flickered in response. Either he was sceptical or he was trying to think up something to try and prevent Cothdorte with going through with anything.

"You'll probably say mind your own business…" the android began, wondering how to choose his next words carefully, "But don't you realise the dangers that the two universes may face, if they're linked together?"

Cothdorte pondered on how to reply to this question, as his android had asked a good question. But, being the man he was, he knew how universes worked and how he could avoid (or even cause) dangers to them. He could always explain things and look superior, but he couldn't be bothered. The sooner he got rid of SOL and back to his sightseeing, the better.

"Mind your own business," Cothdorte answered, not even bothering to try and explain anything to his own android.

Hoping that his last words where the end of the matter, Cothdorte returned his watchful gaze to the weird and wonderful space. Unfortunately, SOL didn't seem to want the argument to end.

"My lord," SOL persisted, "At least consider…"

"Silence!" Cothdorte shouted.

The android said no more and waited.

"Now watch," Cothdorte commanded.

With great interest, the android approached Cothdorte's side and saw something strange happening. A hole was beginning to appear in a sector of space, as a couple of stars disappeared and a part of a planet appeared. This planet was unlike the other planet already in sight, as this one was blue and looked rather icy, judging by its slight silver tint.

"History is in the making, my dear android," Cothdorte concluded.

"What have you done?" SOL asked, slightly devastated at what he had just saw, "Why?"

Cothdorte turned around to see SOL, looking a bit dismayed. Sighing, he knew he shouldn't have given his android feelings.

"There's no need to worry," Cothdorte assured SOL, "I know what I'm doing. With two universes together, I can travel between universes without any hassle. Besides, that universe was once my home. Surely, you of all people… sorry, androids can understand my reasoning behind what I had to do."

Cothdorte could see SOL, thinking about this. He kept looking from both his master to the new planet, wondering how to reply.

"I'm still not sure about this and I suggest you reverse what you just did," SOL advised.

A bit annoyed about this, Cothdorte stood up and glared at his android with rage.

"Who is in charge here, eh?" he asked loudly, "I am and what I do in my universe is my own choice, no one else's but mine! Understand?"

SOL's head, lowered slightly at the fact he was being shouted at. Cothdorte knew that he didn't like being told off, whether it was really bad or not, but at times like this, he couldn't be patient with the android.

"I apologise, my lord," SOL responded.

Cothdorte grinned, as he knew that whenever his android doubted him, he knew that he could change his mind and remove all doubts from his mechanically made mind.

"Apology accepted, SOL," Cothdorte answered, "But you must remember that what I do goes, I'm afraid, whether you like it or not. You can't change my mind."

"Then with that in mind, I shall leave you to your time of leisure," SOL concluded, "Goodbye, my lord."

The android bowed to Cothdorte and he turned around, walking away towards the door.

"Goodbye, SOL!" Cothdorte called after him, as he left the room.

Thinking to himself how glad he was that SOL had left, Cothdorte returned to look out towards space, admiring the new planet that had entered his universe.

* * *

After several minutes, SOL returned to the basement of the vessel, he wondered what Cothdorte had planned. After all, it didn't sound too promising and it sounded more dangerous than safe and as he had learned throughout his life, it was better to be safe than sorry.

SOL was beginning to wonder if Cothdorte was losing the plot a bit. Ever since he had this power of being a figure in authority, he had done things that many had dreamed of, but not succeeded at.

Conflictions were arising in SOL's mind. He wasn't sure whether or not to go back to Cothdorte's personal chambers and see if he could convince him that what he was doing was wrong or to just wait until his master was working once more. It was risky enough, disturbing him when he wasn't working.

No, that was it. SOL had decided that he wasn't going to sit around and wait until it was the right time to do so. And with the thought in mind, he left the basement and began the journey back up to the throne room.

Perhaps there were some advantages to upgrades after all. Ever since Cothdorte had installed some new extra features into his system, he had grown a backbone and with this, he took pleasure in it.

* * *

As Cothdorte continued to admire the new addition to space, he suddenly remembered something. Something important and something to do with work, unfortunately. He leapt up from his chair and ran over to the desk opposite. He picked up a communication device and switched it on. He quickly typed in the number for his personal assistant (one who wasn't an android) and waited for the device to get in contact.

"Hello," the voice on the other end replied.

"Yes, hello," Cothdorte answered, "Mr Ohm, I need the master plan to continue right away."

There was a short silence on the other end of the line.

"What do you want me to do?" Mr Ohm asked.

"Send the Daleks out," Cothdorte told him, "And make sure they head towards the new planet that has just appeared."

"At once, my lord," Mr Ohm responded.

The line was dead and Cothdorte returned the device to the desk. With that small task out the way, he had all the time in the world (or what was equal to it) to enjoy his favourite hobby.

The moment he returned to his chair, the door opened once more and once again, it was SOL-3.

"What is it this time?" Cothdorte asked, impatiently, "You're playing a dangerous game, intruding at times like this."

"I do apologise, my lord," the android answered, "But I'm wondering if your personal health is affecting how you behave."

"No, it isn't!" Cothdorte snapped, "Now go away!"

Cothdorte looked out towards space once more and watched as a fleet of Daleks rushed towards the new planet, with their cries of "exterminate" echoing in space. SOL also looked to see what was happening and predictably, he was disapproving.

"You have an alliance with the Daleks?" SOL asked.

"More of an allegiance," Cothdorte countered, "The Daleks now serve me and whatever purpose or purposes I intend them to do."

Another fleet of Daleks appeared, following the previous lot. Their battle cries were becoming louder and louder, with each new fleet.

"But the Daleks are evil!" SOL shouted.

"So you may think!" Cothdorte continued, "But once they have orders, once they're no longer mindless pepper pots with no leader, they're invincible. I give the Daleks a purpose in their miserable lifetimes!"

Cothdorte was wondering how he managed to tolerate his android's pleas to stop everything from happening, but he wouldn't let SOL have the last word, by any means, whatsoever.

"You don't call the shots here, remember?" Cothdorte warned, pointing a gloved finger at the android, "Whatever I have planned with the Daleks is my business and what they're up to right now isn't important for the moment."

"Then what is?" SOL asked.

"Ruining a certain person's life, or should I say lives?" Cothdorte asked, "Their constant interference. I already have one of him in the prison cells in this ship, but I want my revenge on two or more versions of him. He is the last of the Time Lords and the last hope the universe that has come into contact with this one has."

"Who?" SOL continued to ask, "Whose life could you possibly want to make worse than it probably already is?"

Cothdorte grinned and resisted the temptation to laugh on his own insane plan. As he struggled to keep a straight face, he turned to SOL and told him who (or rather whom) he was going to torment.

"The Doctor."


	2. Chapter One

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**Doctor** **Who**

**A Museum of Time Lords**

* * *

**Starring:** The Tenth Doctor and Lana Corall  
**Enemies:** None  
**Location:** The Iron Fist

* * *

_**Chapter One**_

_Trapped_

Lana Corall, soldier and protector of the outer reaches of the universe had now found herself trapped, inside a cell with a silent stranger. It wasn't the best place to end up, but it was better than a fate worse than death.

_Brilliant_, Lana thought to herself bitterly, as she tried to keep herself as sane as possible, _you try and do the right thing and this happens_.

Thinking of her own sanity had made Lana think about the other prisoner in the cell with her. He already looked as though he had lost it, perhaps a long time ago. Without blinking, his eyes stared endlessly at the door, as if wondering when he was ever going to be released.

But Lana knew that being stuck inside a prison cell with only four walls to keep you occupied all day wasn't going to get anyone released. Perhaps the other prisoner knew this too, as he sighed out loudly. Maybe he too knew that the two of them were going to be trapped in here for a very long time, possibly forever. Who really knew?

Where had it all gone wrong? Lana thought back to the moment that she had been doing what she did best, which was usually about saving planets, preventing evil and receiving the big pay check at the end of the month. So how had that resulted in her being captured and taken to a dump like the one she was in now?

Well, it had all started on the grassy world of Maytarr...

* * *

Maytarr was one of the most well known planets in the universe and was also one of the most overpopulated planets. Several years after planet Earth was swallowed up by its own sun, humans were beginning to look into relocating on a planet with a similar atmosphere and landscape.

Despite some unsuccessful searches, a group of scientists did manage to find the uninhabited world nowadays known as Maytarr, which luckily fulfilled all the needs that humans needed to survive. Whilst it wasn't an exact replica of Earth (for it had no water whatsoever), it was a near-perfect substitute, until another planet with better qualities was found. And with that, the human race settled down and lived there for a peaceful century.

Unfortunately, the Malavice had grown tired of the humans who lived there and they had vowed to destroy all life on the planet. What they didn't know was that another planet had been found for humans to live their lives on, this time an exact replica of Earth. It had been christened with the generic title of New Earth, but the majority of the human race had relocated there, leaving only a small handful left.

Moments before war had begun, Maytarr itself was facing its own trials and tribulations. The handful of humans still left on the planet were trying to find ways of leaving, so they could start a new life on New Earth. Moving to a different planet sounded easy enough even after five billion years or so, but the few remaining people were poorer than the rest and had no money to find appropriate transports to leave.

The troubles were still occurring, as the Malavice race prepared to bombard Maytarr with their weapons of mass destruction. Luckily, a crew of handpicked warriors had heard of the terrible plot to wipe out all life on the planet and they immediately made their way there, vowing to any and all survivors that they wouldn't leave until they'd forced the invaders away.

Now that was all well and good, but the Malavice had truly got the upper hand in all circumstances. The survivors had all been hunted down and killed and the team of warriors were being reduced to hiding wherever they could.

* * *

Lana Corall, soldier and protector of the outer reaches of the universe had now found herself hiding, inside a cave, which was as cold as ice. It wasn't the best place to end up, but it was better than a fate worse than death, even if it did mean that she was going to end up with frostbite or anything else like that later on.

For the first time in days, Lana heard voices from the outside. It sounded like the Malavice. Their dog-like noses were sniffing, long and hard, trying to smell out anything they could eat.

Hoping that she wouldn't be found, Lana hid herself towards the back of the cave, where it was the darkest. Unfortunately, Malavice were much clever than what they seemed. They entered the cave, picking up her scent.

Lana struggled to find anywhere else to go and decided to wait in silence, praying that the Malavice would end their search and leave. These Malavice however weren't willing to give up quite so easily. Perhaps it was because they had noticed the rotting bodies of their former comrades and were wondering if their assassin was nearby.

Lana couldn't blame them for wanting to seek revenge. She would've in their situation. This wasn't the first time any Malavice had entered the cave and beforehand, she had killed them with her own weapons. Unfortunately, she had run out of ammo the last time anyone had entered and she was now weapon less.

The Malavice were approaching the place where Lana was hiding. Heart beating like mad, she tried not to give herself away as one of the Malavice's long fingers stretched towards her, grabbing her face and clutching onto it hard.

Trapped in the hard, cold hands of two members of the Malavice, they pulled her out of the darkness and forcing her outside. Having not seen the light for ages, Lana squinted, but she was lucky enough that the Malavice were covering up the light for her with their large hands.

Lana wondered what was going to happen to her, but all of a sudden, one of the two Malavice punched her so hard, she fell to the ground and she couldn't see anything.

* * *

Lana's eyes finally opened. Blurry vision was the first thing to greet her and she groaned out loud, trying to remember the last thing that had happened, as she tried not to think about the stabbing headache she could now feel. Was she drunk and now suffering with one hell of a hangover? Well whatever it was, it wasn't going to be good.

Someone's face suddenly appeared in front of her. It was a Malavice. Now it was all coming back to Lana. She had been hiding out on Maytarr, trying to avoid being captured or killed and they had found her in a cave. Looking back, perhaps it wasn't the wisest choice to hide out in a cold and creepy cave.

Ouch! Lana felt someone kicking her stomach. If they kept doing it, she was going to throw up on the idiot that was kicking her. Struggling to speak, she got up and allowed the two Malavice to hold her steady. Well, despite the fact they had treated her like dirt earlier, this was kind of making up for it. Or was it?

Soon the two Malavice were forcing Lana through corridor after corridor in what appeared to be a prison ship. _Great_, Lana thought, _just great_. What was in front of her was a terrible sight though. People of various ages and different species, male and female were begging for food, amongst other things. Many guards, all of the Malavice species were trying to shut the prisoners up, with no such luck.

The Malavice shoved Lana through another crowded corridor, again receiving horrible lucks from the guards.

Ignoring them, Lana pressed on, wondering when (if ever) she was going to get anywhere, which wasn't a corridor. It seemed pretty ridiculous if all she was walking through were corridors.

As the guards made her turn around yet another corner, Lana was beginning to give up hope, but thankfully, there was a door in front of her. It looked like it was going to be temporary accommodation at any rate and that was better than being forced into one of the claustrophobic cells that she'd passed. One of the guards opened the door and the other threw her inside.

And as the door was shut and locked, the guards laughed at their latest capture and walked off. Lana stood by the door, making sure that she could no longer hear what they were saying.

Afterwards, she fell to the floor, a bit shaken by the recent events that had caused her to end up in here. Normally, Lana was the strong and silent type, not one to be disturbed or upset by anything, but this had pushed it. Not even her training back home had offended her this much.

Sighing, Lana wondered when food time was.

* * *

An hour had passed, since Lana had found herself inside the cell she was in at this moment in time.

And that was how Lana had managed to end up in the prison ship that she would now be staying in. As she sat on the floor, she wondered what everyone back home was thinking. Did they think that she was dead? Did they think that she had abandoned them all to lead a better life? Or did they think she had betrayed them all and joined up with the enemy?

Whatever anyone thought didn't really matter to Lana though. She couldn't care less whether they branded her as dead or alive, wimp or traitor. They could speculate on her life as much as they wanted, until the day that she got home, which at the way things were looking at the moment was probably never going to happen.

Suddenly, the man moved. He hadn't moved much, but he had shifted from his statue-like position on the floor and was now staring at Lana. He was looking at her with great interest, as he eyed her up, from the long blonde hair, all the way down her black uniform to her black boots.

Wondering what he was up, Lana kept quiet, as she too watched each and every move the man made. As he shuffled his way over towards her, he approached her and stood up. Now that he was standing above her, he looked quite imposing and he held out a hand.

Believing that this was a way that he was going to introduce himself, Lana held out her own hand, but he instead pulled her off the ground with great strength. Perhaps he hadn't been in contact with anyone for a while and he was using her as practice.

As Lana allowed her hand to be shaken, the moment the man spoke, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. His voice had a creepiness aspect to it.

"I'm the Doctor and I'm probably going to be your cellmate for the rest of your life."

* * *


	3. Chapter Two

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* * *

**

**Doctor** **Who**

**A Museum of Time Lords**

* * *

**_Chapter Two_**

_The Prisoners of War_

"The Doctor, my lord?" SOL asked, wondering who his master was referring to.

Cothdorte looked at the android and for a moment, there seemed to be a look of disgrace in his face.

"The Doctor," Cothdorte began, trying not to sound too shaken, "Is the last of his race, the Time Lords. He is a meddler in all of time and space, someone who has made the universe much worse than ever before, in all of his incarnations."

SOL was now beginning to like the sound of this "Doctor" and wanted to learn more about him. Even if he did sound like the most dangerous man in the entire universe, there was something exciting and mysterious about him that sounded intriguing.

"I apologise if I sound rude, my lord, but could you please tell me more?" SOL asked, hoping he wasn't going to get scrapped for this.

"Some say that he doesn't exist, like Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy," Cothdorte continued, "But unlike those simple Earth characters, the Doctor does exist. Whenever the Doctor is around, trouble is bound to happen, no matter whether he wants to get involved or not."

Despite initially liking to hear more about the Doctor, SOL was now beginning to fear him. He sounded like a horrible person, like Genghis Kahn from planet Earth, a planet that his master liked.

"How can he be stopped?" SOL asked, "Are you going to stop him, my lord?"

"Of course," Cothdorte answered, "Someone needs to. Luckily, I have the latest incarnation of the Doctor's lives. He's currently being held captive in one of the prison cells below."

SOL was confused. If the Doctor had already been captured, what was his master worrying about?

"Then what's wrong?" SOL asked, wishing he could say something different than ask questions.

"Even though there's one Doctor that is under constant surveillance," Cothdorte explained, "There is more than one version of him and capturing just a part of him won't deal with the damage that's he done to the universe I once lived in and if he's allowed to roam around in time and space, he'll eventually find other universes and cause damage to them too. It's bad enough that my own universe is the closest to the one he currently causes havoc in, but I can't risk other universes suffer the same fate."

Cothdorte took a deep breath. This time, however he was deadly serious and SOL didn't dare interrupt him, as he continued, no longer out of breath.

I'm going to need to find and track down all of his other selves and deal with him, as soon as possible. Otherwise, there's no telling what the Doctor will do next."

SOL swore that he saw his master shudder. The subject of the Doctor seemed to bother him, so the android wondered whether he should change the subject and talk about something more positive.

"Have you made any more additions to your universe, my lord?" SOL asked brightly.

"Oh no, not yet," Cothdorte replied, a familiar grin reappearing on his face, "But I'm close to rebuilding one of my favourite planets from the universe I used to live in."

"Is that planet, Earth, my lord?" SOL asked.

"No, but that's the next planet I want to recreate though," Cothdorte told the android.

Cothdorte sighed and lay back in his chair. SOL wondered whether to leave his chambers or wait to see what else his master had to say, but he didn't need to think of anything to do, as his master already had something in mind.

"SOL, go and find, Mr Ohm?" Cothdorte commanded, "And tell him to see the Doctor immediately."

"Of course, my lord," SOL responded, "But what should I tell him about the Doctor?"

"Oh don't worry," Cothdorte notified the robot, "Whenever the Doctor is mentioned, Mr Ohm always knows what to do with our Time Lord villain. Now go, proceed with my orders."

And without hesitation, SOL left the room, ready to find Mr Ohm and tell him the news, regarding the infamous Doctor.

* * *

Lana didn't know what to think. At the moment, she was staring into the fixed gaze that this "Doctor" seemed to have on her, without any idea what to say or do.

After all, the name "Doctor" sounded a bit too arrogant for Lana's liking. Either that was a nickname or some alias that he went by. But if his name really was "Doctor", what kind of parents would call their own child that?

But the first thought that had entered her mind the moment that the Doctor had introduced himself, wasn't a good one. At the prospect of being trapped in a cell with some guy in a brown pinstripe suit who obviously hadn't talked to anyone for ages, Lana wasn't happy at all.

"Oh no," she began, waving a finger in front of the man, "If you think I'm going to wait around in here until I'm dead, then you can think again. I'm one of the best and it isn't very often that I end up getting captured."

"Yeah, well you'll get used to it in here," the Doctor continued, obviously ignoring Lana's protesting comments.

"No way!" Lana shouted, "You might like staring at four walls all day, but I don't. I need to be doing something…"

"How do you think I feel?" the Doctor asked, a bit too loudly.

Lana stopped. The Doctor looked grim.

"What's wrong?" Lana asked, a bit calmer than before.

The Doctor stepped backwards into the corner of the room and leant back on the brown coloured wall. Lana was certain that she could see a tear in the Doctor's eye, but she didn't have time to tell if there was, as he shook his head.

"I never lived the slow life," the Doctor began, his voice rather shaky, "Well, except for the occasional times. Normally, I was always out there, out and about, travelling around the universe, doing what good I could, until…"

The Doctor finished, rather abruptly, as he started to take deep breaths. He turned and looked outside the rather small window. Lana was going to ask more about the Doctor, but he didn't seem in the right mood to talk about it.

Instead, Lana walked over to the Doctor and she took a look outside too. A large group of pepper pot like creatures appeared to be racing towards a planet. The strange thing was that the planet didn't look like a planet. It looked like a quarter of a planet.

"Daleks." the Doctor told Lana simply, as the last of the creatures disappeared, "The most evil race in all the universe."

"They're invading aren't they?" Lana guessed, as the Doctor turned away from the window and retreated back to his corner.

The Doctor gave a silent nod. He didn't seem in the right mood for talking. Lana suddenly remembered that she hadn't introduced herself. It was better than keeping quiet and it would be easier to introduce herself now than later, when the Doctor was a bit more talkative and she wouldn't be able to get a word in. The trouble was that she didn't have any fancy or witty lines to say on her introduction.

"Lana," she said simply, "Lana Corall."

Nothing. The Doctor didn't turn around and reply and instead, he remained as still as a statue, still standing in what appeared to be his corner and still starring at the wall.

"Hello, Lana Corall," the Doctor whispered.

Lana could tell that the Doctor looked pretty shaken. The sight of the Daleks must've made him feel bad. Maybe if she could get him talking, he'd feel better.

"So how did you end up in here?" Lana asked.

The Doctor turned around.

"You really want to know?" the Doctor countered, "Because my life is pretty complicated and pretty busy. Well, okay you asked for it."

Lana wondered if she was being threatened, but she didn't feel it in the slightest. But she was genuinely interested into hearing more about the Doctor and his past.

"Some time ago, I was involved in a war," the Doctor began, "It involved my people and the Daleks."

_No wonder the Daleks seemed to have an effect on the Doctor_, Lana thought.

"And my people lost the most important war ever to take place," the Doctor continued, "The Daleks won, but I made the ultimate sacrifice to prevent their victory, by killing two races with one stone, or so I thought. Later on, I discovered that the Daleks had actually survived and my sacrifice had been for nothing."

The Doctor finished his story and kept quiet again. Lana presumed that was it and decided that it was her turn to tell the Doctor about her past.

"Well, I was also involved with a war…"

* * *

Mr Ohm sat in his luxurious office, enjoying himself immensely. He had made the right choice choosing to work for Lord Cothdorte and he knew it. A better pay, a better service and a better job overall. He lay back in his chair, enjoying the recent air conditioning that had been installed for him. _Heaven_, he thought to himself, as he smoked an old Earth style cigar, a gift from his lord and master.

Unfortunately, someone had to disturb his time of pleasure and leisure.

"Come!" Ohm shouted at the door, as he quickly leant back up in his seat, trying to regain his look as an important figure in business.

To Ohm's dismay, it was SOL-3, the lord and master's personal android. Ohm was annoyed that Cothdorte had made SOL an official employee of the business. Why did he allow him to carry out business? Business wasn't an android's job and Ohm believed that androids should be kept as servants, not annoying people who kept wanting to come into your office.

"What is it, Tin Can?" Ohm asked, annoyed slightly at being disturbed.

"If you can refrain from insulting my metallic nature and I'll tell you what," SOL retorted.

Ohm was surprised, but not threatened in the slightest.

"How dare you," Ohm warned, "You do realise that our lord and master has cameras everywhere in the ship. Continue with your antagonistic behaviour and I should advise the master to give you a mind wipe and you wouldn't like that would you, tin can?"

Tin Can was Ohm's name for SOL, as he didn't like the android at all, whether he did his job well or not.

"Get to the point, will you?" Ohm asked, "I haven't got all day, you know."

"Yes well, my lord told me to say the Doctor to you," SOL replied, "My lord has told me that you know what that means."

Ohm quickly stood up, straightening his suit and wiping his greasy dark hair backwards.

"Yes, thank you Tin Can," Cothdorte said quickly, "I shall do as our lord and master commands. Now leave my office, before I advise the master to give you a mind wipe, after your unprofessional performance."

* * *

Lana finally finished her own story and the Doctor was now intrigued with her past as much as she was with his.

The Doctor looked as if he was about to say something, but a noise silenced him. Lana wondered what the noise was and was about to ask the Doctor what he thought, but he'd wondered over to the window again. The window seemed to be the answer to everything nowadays and Lana approached the window.

Two large ships were firing at each other and thousands of smaller ships were dashing about, trying to avoid the many bullets and also participating in the space fight. Another smaller ship was slowly accelerated forwards and none of the other ships seemed to have noticed it.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" the Doctor asked, his tongue licking his lips in deep concentration.

"Yeah," Lana replied, "There's a war going on isn't there?"


	4. Chapter Three

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* * *

**

**Doctor ****Who**

**A Museum of Time Lords**

* * *

**_Chapter Three_**

_Cell 2479_

The Doctor and Lana continued to watch the space war outside and there were no signs of it ending any time soon. Another cluster of the smaller ships appeared on both sides of the battlefield. They rushed towards each other, aiming to destroy the opposition.

"Do you think those Daleks are involved?" Lana asked.

"I doubt it," the Doctor replied, "The Daleks seem more interested in that planet down there."

As Lana continued to watch what was happening outside (as there was actually something interesting going on), the Doctor walked away. Lana could guess why he'd decided not to watch anymore. Perhaps the sight of war had taken its toll on him.

"Visiting hours already," the Doctor commented.

Lana turned from the window and saw the Doctor at the door. Walking over to him, she noticed his one eye was squinting through a small hole in the door.

"Mr Ohm is on his way over," the Doctor continued, as he stood up and looked at Lana, "Now when he gets here, don't say anything, okay, don't say anything."

Lana would've punched him one, as he said all this as if she was a bit thick, but decided to do what the Doctor said. Perhaps Ohm was an intimidating person.

* * *

Mr Ohm walked as quickly as he could, almost jogging, as he finally found the cell that held the Doctor captive. However, news had reached his attention that this cell also held another prisoner. Intrigued to see the new prisoner, Ohm wasted no time in opening the large metal door to begin his visiting hour in Cell 2479.

The moment the door opened, the grim face of the Doctor's was the first thing that Ohm saw. This didn't bother him, as it was usually the first thing he ever saw in this cell.

At this point, Ohm was expecting a typical rant from the Doctor about what he was doing wrong and why couldn't he see his lord and master yet. But not today. Instead, he remained silent, as if this time, he was waiting for the right moment to strike.

"Good evening," Ohm began simply, as he closed the door behind him.

Still no sound from the Doctor and there wasn't any complaints from the new prisoner either. _Very curious_, Ohm thought.

"What's the matter?" Ohm asked, planning to see if he could provoke one of them, "Cat got your tongue?"

At this point, Ohm gave a small chuckle. There was still no reply. Ohm could tell that his lips were beginning to contort into a forced grin.

"Now don't be shy," Ohm continued, "You can always talk to me, can't you?"

"When you shut up maybe," the new prisoner spat quietly.

Ohm grinned even more. He knew that he'd get one of them to talk soon enough.

"Your new friend here has a backbone, doesn't she, Doctor?" Ohm asked, "What's her name, Lana Corall? Recently captured by the Malavice, after participating in a war herself."

"Yeah," Lana replied simply.

Ohm cleared his throat and kept his eyes fixed on the new prisoner, "Now Lana, I'm Mr Ohm, the prison manager here and you must be the latest addition to this humble community…"

The Doctor gave a sarcastic "ha" to this comment. Ohm ignored him and continued with his introductory speech that he gave to all of the new prisoners on their first day.

"If you have any further questions, feel free to ask me them now or at any future sessions we may share together. And don't worry, you'll get used to these bland four walls, I assure you."

And that was it. Nobody gave a laugh at this and nobody ever did, but Ohm couldn't care less. He didn't want any of his prisoners to have a good laugh, during their stay. It was his job to make everyone feel miserable, even if he tried to be a bit nicer than usual.

"Have you finished?" the Doctor asked, as politely as he could.

"Ah, Doctor, finally decided to give up the silent treatment, have you?" Ohm countered.

"No, just wondering if you'd finished really," the Doctor told him.

"For now, yes," Ohm replied, "I won't be back until tomorrow and hopefully, you and your new cellmate will be more talkative."

"Oh, I don't we have much else to say," the Doctor answered, "I'm keeping my mouth shut, until I see whoever is in charge."

Ohm sighed. Was this the sign of the Doctor giving into temptation and finally getting on with his usual demands?

"So you keep saying, Doctor!" Ohm retorted, "But the day you manage to keep your mouth shut will be the day I'm discharged from my position! And besides, your friend… "

"I do have a name, remember!" Lana interrupted, rather loudly.

Ohm straightened up slightly; a bit annoyed that someone had the nerve to not wait until he had finished talking.

"Of course you do," he acknowledged, "Now where was I? Oh yes, your friend, Lana, will probably want to speak to me at some point."

There was a short silence. Maybe Ohm was going to be the one to have the last words for once.

"Until tomorrow, have a nice night," Ohm concluded, as he opened the door again and left.

* * *

SOL-3 retired to the basement of the ship, which were his quarters. Ever since his lord and master had told him about the Doctor that was all he had been thinking about. It wouldn't be until tomorrow that the visiting hours with the Doctor would take place, since he had just told Ohm to visit him.

SOL scolded himself for not bothering to ask Ohm if he could visit the Doctor with him. He now aspired to meet the man, even if he was an evil psychopath. There was something about the Doctor's nature that sounded interesting to find out.

Maybe tomorrow, he could visit the Doctor and see what the man was truly like. After all, his lord and master could've been over exaggerating when he had said about meddling with the universe. The only person SOL knew that was capable of intervening with the universe was his lord and master. Did that make him as bad as the Doctor? But then again, his master was doing it with intentions whereas the Doctor wasn't.

_There was no point in debating various things you know nothing much about_, SOL thought. Until he met the Doctor, he would never know what the truth really was about him or his master.

* * *

"What an idiot," Lana commented, the moment she was certain that Ohm could no longer be heard pacing outside.

"He may be an idiot, but he isn't a fool," the Doctor warned, "Every single prisoner in this ship, he knows well or at least, he knows our past well. I don't know how he does it, but I have a theory that whoever has a higher authority here supplies him with the information about us all."

"Great," Lana said sarcastically, "So he knows about that war you were in."

"Correctamundo…" the Doctor replied.

Lana looked at the Doctor. What had he just said?

"Ah, sorry, I keep telling myself that I'm never going to say that again and what do I do, I say it!" the Doctor scolded himself.

"So what are we going to do now?" Lana asked, "I don't particularly want to stay here for too long."

"You've got no choice for now," the Doctor told her, "Like me."

Everything went dark suddenly. Now this felt like a prison.

"Lights out, as they used to say," the Doctor continued, "Now get some sleep and we can talk tomorrow."

Lana couldn't argue with this. She did feel tired and she didn't feel up to arguing with anyone at the moment.

"Doctor, where do we sleep?" Lana asked.

"How about you sleep on the floor, like I am?" the Doctor suggested, "There's no beds."

Lana was sceptical. What kind of prison was this?

"It's not that bad, really," the Doctor told her, "The floor's cold, but other than that, it's relatively comfortable."

Sighing, Lana knelt down and lay backwards. It did feel pretty cold, but she didn't feel up to complaining. Instead, she rolled over and tried to get some sleep in this dark and depressing cell.


	5. Chapter Four

**

* * *

**

**Doctor** **Who**

**A Museum of Time Lords**

* * *

_**Chapter Four**_

_Day One_

Lana woke up to see that she was still in the prison cell. If only she had just dreamt that she was trapped. If only she was actually on a ship with her fellow soldiers, planning a battle against anyone who tried to threaten others in the universe.

Lana groaned, as she pushed herself up from the floor. Her body felt a bit stiff, but she tried to stay optimistic, which was hard enough, what with being stuck in a prison cell and decided she'd probably feel a bit better soon. If only, she thought dully, now feeling a bit pessimistic.

The Doctor, however was already up, more cheerful and in a much better mood than he was before.

"Sleep well?" he asked brightly.

"Not at all," Lana replied dully, stretching her aching body, "How do you manage not to feel bad in the morning, without sleeping on a comfortable bed?"

"You get used to it," the Doctor told her, "If you think the sleeping arrangements are bad, you should wait until breakfast, the first and most important meal of the day."

Lana did feel quite hungry and the sooner she got to eat something the better, yet the moment the Doctor had said there was worse to come (assuming that's what he meant, of course), dreams of a delicious meal were fading fast.

"Honestly, the Slitheen serve better grub," the Doctor continued, "And they're notable for having some of…"

"Okay, Doctor, I think I get the idea," Lana interrupted, not wanting to hear anything else on the subject of food, "So, when's breakfast around here?"

The Doctor didn't answer her straight away and instead, he walked over to the door. He was squinting through the small hole that he had peered through last night. Lana wanted to see what was happening too, but she couldn't see anything at all.

"Anything interesting?" Lana asked, doubting that anything exciting could happen in a prison.

"Yep," the Doctor answered simply, "Time for a good, hearty breakfast."

The Doctor stood back from the door, as it pushed open by two of the brawny guards. Despite wanting to eat for some time, Lana was starting to dread her first meal in this prison, after what the Doctor had just told her. If the food here was worse than anything made by Slitheen, then who was catering here?

Day one had begun.

* * *

SOL-3 walked in, carrying a tray with his lord's favourite meal. Cothdorte turned to see the android and another of his forced grins appeared on his somewhat smug face. The android approached his master's side.

"How are you today, my lord?" SOL asked as politely as he could.

"Not too bad," Cothdorte told him, practically snatching the tray off his android, "But I guess things will only get worse for me throughout the day."

SOL didn't approve of how he was being treated, but there was no point in causing a scene. Cothdorte would only threaten him with a mind wipe, if he did. Trying to remain as calm as his programming would allow him, SOL attempted to make conversation when his master was mostly pleasant (if that was even possible).

"No need to be so down, my lord, not every day has to be…" SOL suggested.

"Oh and one thing I must remember to do on your next update," Cothdorte interrupted, "I'm going to modify you, so you don't repeat the same thing at the end of every sentence, before it drives me insane."

SOL didn't know what to think about this. He had always been forced to say "my lord" every so often and removing it now would feel strange. Again, he decided not to argue with him.

"That gives me something to look forward to," SOL lied, trying to sound ecstatic, "Oh look, I've stopped saying your professional title already. Are you happy now?"

Cothdorte seemed to shake at SOL's apparent attempt at humour and cheekiness, but he managed not to lose his temper at this.

"Quite the comedian, aren't you?" Cothdorte muttered, "But you're not that funny. Now go, before I decide to decide to replace you with another model or something."

Now that was a rare threat. Despite how Cothdorte didn't want to admit it, SOL was useful to him, whether it was serving breakfast or putting up with endless meetings with Mr Ohm. Whatever it was, Cothdorte wouldn't dare get rid of SOL, at least not yet, not until he managed to find the time to build a fourth version of him.

SOL decided that to leave, before he said something that wouldn't be good for either him or Cothdorte.

"On that note, I shall leave you to enjoy the little feast I made for you and I shall return when you require my services," SOL concluded, "I hope you have an enjoyable day, my lord."

"Before you go," Cothdorte added quickly, "I need you to see Mr Ohm and make him aware of further developments."

SOL stopped, dreading having to even talk to Ohm "the posh one".

"Further developments?" SOL asked.

"Yes," Cothdorte replied simply, "It's regarding the Doctor."

* * *

The Doctor wasn't lying when he said that the food here wasn't five star standards and Lana was wise not to doubt him. He seemed to know quite a lot about the prison itself and he would probably be one of the better prisoners to get along with.

Lana had immediately decided that the cafeteria was awful, the moment she had walked in. The overall environment wasn't five star hotel standards either. The floor was covered with stains (probably of food), the wall looked as if it hadn't been cleaned for weeks and the ceiling looked even worse, with cobwebs sticking out in each and every corner.

The inmates were all forced to gather into a line, as the kitchen staff prepared to serve the first meal of the day. They (who happened to be Ood, a slave race that Lana had been trying to free from slavery, along with many others) didn't look bad and seemed happy to serve, which was typical of their race.

Their possible sign of optimism made Lana feel a bit better, but she'd have thought they'd look as bad as she felt, working in a place like this, serving prisoners who'd probably try and cause trouble for them.

Lana had ended up at the end of the queue, just behind the Doctor. Normally, Lana hated having to wait for ages in queues, whether they were long or not. This one however was an exception.

Even though they had no choice, nobody seemed that desperate to eat and when the Ood finally gave them their food, they didn't seem grateful for it.

When Lana finally got served, she couldn't help but see why. After all, the food did look awful and as the Ood forced the dreadful rations onto the plate, she looked upon it with disgust. She supposed that all the prisoners on their first day complained about what they were served and there was no point complaining to them.

"Thanks," Lana murmured, as she picked up her tray.

The Ood remained silent, so Lana was uncertain of any reply from them. They were usually the quiet type, so she didn't try any further conversation with them, as she walked away. Deciding that the Doctor was her only friend at this present time of time, Lana joined him at the table, where he sat alone.

"Nobody likes you, do they?" Lana joked, as she sat down.

"Not really, no," the Doctor agreed, as he began eating, but he didn't look as if he approved of the taste, "Everyone here would rather stay with their own kind."

The Doctor nodded over in the direction of the other tables in the cafeteria. Lana looked to see various species on their own table.

"There are many races that are in captivity here," the Doctor continued, "If you look, there are Ice Warriors, Raxacoricofallapatorians… well, only the Slitheen family, Androgums, Zygons, not to mention countless more races. Oh yeah, there are humans too. Since there is so many of them here, they have several tables, whereas every other species have one."

"So shouldn't I be with the humans then?" Lana asked, noticing several tables allocated to their own table.

The Doctor looked up from his meal, slightly confused.

"Eh?" the Doctor asked.

"Well I'm human, shouldn't I be with them?" Lana asked back, "And not here with you?"

"Your choice," the Doctor told her, "Go on, stay with them and have your beans on toast and chips…"

The Doctor stopped suddenly and he looked horrified.

"Doctor, are you alright?" Lana asked.

The Doctor shook his head quickly.

"Yeah, sorry," he replied, a bit shaken, "Sorry, it's just old memories. Memories of how I used to be. Just ignore me."

Lana was beginning to feel sorry for the Doctor and she didn't know why. Whether it was because he had been alone for some time, she didn't know, but she couldn't leave him alone, after how he had been so nice to her. _Wow_,_ I really am getting soft_, Lana thought.

"Are you really the last of your race, whatever it is?" Lana asked.

"Afraid so," the Doctor told her, "Now can we just leave it at that, please?"

The Doctor wasn't up for any more chitchat. Lana got the message and tried her best not to throw up, as she too began eating her disgusting looking food.


	6. Chapter Five

**

* * *

**

**Doctor** **Who**

**A Museum of Time Lords**

* * *

_**Chapter Five**_

_The Mystery Thickens_

Normally, Lana had her own motto (well, it was actually her family's motto, but she had applied it to herself), when things weren't great and that was things could only get better, from here onwards. Not this time. She was convinced that things could only get worse, after the day she had just had.

Lana knew that it wouldn't be fair to judge what life would be like in the prison at this stage, but she couldn't see the rest of her days here being any different.

Unlike most prisons, the prisoners here didn't have to do any work and instead, were forced to return to their cells and wait for the next day to arrive. For some reason, Lana would've preferred to work, because at least then, she wouldn't have been stuck in the same cell all day long.

"So, what do we do now?" Lana asked.

The Doctor didn't reply. Maybe Lana had said the wrong thing at breakfast earlier.

"Look, I'm sorry if I was asking anything too personal," Lana began, "It's just…"

She stopped, as she didn't know what to say next. The Doctor looked over at her, a grim look on his face and he was waiting for an answer.

"You don't need to apologise, really you don't," he assured her, "I'm glad that someone's taken an interest in me."

"Well that's great to know," Lana replied, feeling a little bit better, "But I think we're going to be together for a long time in this cell and I think we need to get to know each other a bit better."

"But not today," the Doctor told her quite simply.

* * *

During the day, Mr Ohm's main job was to keep on eye on every single prisoner in the entire facility. It was tedious, but as long as he was getting paid, he would tolerate it for now. Out of all the prisoners, he had his eye mainly on the Doctor and Lana. There was something about them that looked like they could cause trouble, whereas everyone else had just seemingly given up and rolled over to the orders forced on them.

The door opened and to Ohm's annoyance, it was the walking "tin can", SOL-3.

"What do you want?" Ohm asked sharply.

"I'd refrain from that tone of behaviour if I were you, otherwise I shall have to make my lord aware of it," SOL suggested.

Ohm sighed, wondering how long this meeting was going to take. The sooner it ended, the better.

"Look, I don't want to talk to you and I bet that you don't want to talk to me, so spit it out," Ohm warned.

"My lord has orders he wants you to carry out," SOL told him, "And he wants to tell them to you, personally."

Ohm twitched with anticipation, whenever his lord and master had decided to give him any order. Straightening his suit and trying to retain his professional look, he glared at the android, waiting for him to reveal his latest order.

"Go on," Ohm responded, unable to contain the excitement anymore.

SOL pressed a button on his metal body and a hologram of their lord and master appeared in front of them.

"Mr Ohm," Cothdorte began, "Your latest order concerns that of the prestigious Doctor and his new cellmate."

At the mention of the Doctor, Ohm twitched once more.

"Something wrong?" Cothdorte asked.

"Nothing, sir, nothing," Ohm said quickly, "Please continue."

Cothdorte looked slightly annoyed, but nonetheless, he decided to continue carrying out his order.

"Now, I need you to visit the Doctor and his female friend as soon as possible and upgrade their living quarters."

Ohm wondered what this could possibly mean for the two prisoners, as nobody else in the facility got this kind of treatment.

"Very well," Ohm obeyed, "I shall deal with them immediately."

The hologram figure of Cothdorte looked pleased and disappeared from view.

"You can go now, tin can," Ohm told the android.

The android seemed to obey his orders and he left the room. Ohm was expecting an argument, but he didn't get one. Maybe SOL had finally learnt that Ohm was a much better figure in a business like this and that he would eventually become the second-in-command.

* * *

Only an hour had passed, since the Doctor and Lana had been back in their cell, with nothing interesting going on and nothing interesting to do besides talking to each other.

"How do you cope in here?" Lana asked, "How do you manage not to get insane from being bored out of your mind?"

"I think about something I used to like doing," the Doctor told her.

Lana was interested, but a little bit disappointed that the Doctor had been too brief. She was hoping for a better explanation.

"Like?" Lana enquired.

"I used to travel," the Doctor explained, "In time and space."

Lana stifled a snigger. Travelling in time? It sounded ludicrous and impossible at the same time. Travelling in space was easy enough, nearly everyone could do it, but time travel was a different matter, a matter that only fools dreamt of and few dared to actually attempt it.

"Oh don't laugh," the Doctor warned her, deeply serious now, "I've been travelling in my TARDIS for so long now…"

"TARDIS?" Lana interrupted, presuming it was a ship of some sorts.

"My ship," the Doctor replied, "TARDIS stands for time and relative dimensions in space."

Lana had to admit that the acronym sounded pretty impressive, but what was the actual ship like? If the Doctor really owned a time machine, it would probably be really big, wouldn't it?

"Is your TARDIS the reason you're here?" Lana asked.

The Doctor didn't catch on and the look in his eyes confirmed it.

"Sorry, I mean, did you end up in here, because you own a time machine?" Lana rephrased her original question.

"No," the Doctor answered, simply, "I've got a feeling that someone here knows me and until I see whoever is in charge here, I won't know the deal as to why I'm here."

* * *

SOL followed Ohm as quietly as he could, so he could see this Doctor and find out what his master meant by "upgrading" their living quarters. It was intriguing, to say the least.

Ohm had approached the cell and opened it, not even daring to look behind him, to see if anyone was following him. _Stupid human_, SOL thought, as he waited for the moment that he, the Doctor and the other prisoner came out of the cell.

SOL was going to be waiting a long time…


	7. Chapter Six

**

* * *

**

**Doctor** **Who**

**A Museum of Time Lords**

* * *

**Starring:** The Seventh Doctor and Ace  
**Enemies:** The Master (Geoffrey Beevers and Anthony Ainley)  
**Location:** Near the Iron Fist

* * *

_**Chapter Six**_

_A Message_

General Kahn had followed his master's orders from day one and he wasn't going to stop now. For some time now, he had been fighting a war, unlike any other. This one had taken place in space, a place where the general had never fought before. His master called it, World War One.

"General Kahn," a voice called.

Kahn had no choice, but to listen to the eerie voice. A face appeared on a screen, just above the elderly general and he saw the face of his master, Cothdorte.

"Yes sir," Kahn replied.

"It's time to go through with the next part of my plan," Cothdorte told him, "You must go and assist one of my oldest acquaintances and join him in another war."

"I can't bear to face another war," Kahn answered, "I was on the losing side last time, on your orders."

Cothdorte struggled not to get angry, as he began to breath heavily.

"This time, I'll be placing you on the winning side," he told the general, "Once you've finished, you'll be free to live your life once more."

Kahn couldn't see anything wrong with that. One more job and he wouldn't have to work with the mysterious man ever again.

"What would you have me do?" Kahn asked.

"I shall tell you more, once you've met up with my old acquaintance," Cothdorte told him, "Go now."

Cothdorte disappeared from the screen, leaving Kahn a bit weary of what was to come.

* * *

The Doctor stood alone, at the centre console of the TARDIS, as he always did. This time however, he seemed a bit more dismal than usual and not as excitable as he used to be on his travels. One, he was getting old and being at least nine hundred and fifty-three didn't help. Two, he had responsibilities to the universe now and responsibilities that he couldn't ignore (for great power comes great responsibility, he had once heard). And three, he had done some terrible things over his past few adventures, things others couldn't comprehend.

"Professor," someone called out, "Are we there yet?"

The Doctor turned around to see his current companion, Ace. Unlike the Doctor, she was bored at the fact that they weren't doing anything at the moment. The Doctor liked to reflect on recent events in the TARDIS, whilst Ace just wanted to get to the action (and usually with nitro-nine). Normally, the two of them would be having an adventure right now, if it weren't for an extended period in the TARDIS.

"Not yet, Ace no," the Doctor finally answered, "I'm allowing the TARDIS to choose our next destination. It's been a long time, since she made a decision on where to go next and my decisions haven't exactly been brilliant."

The Doctor was tempted to chuckle, but didn't. Over the past few days, he had been reunited with old enemies like the Daleks, Cybermen and the Master. Although some good had come of his adventures and he had met up with his old friend, the Brigadier.

"But I'm bored," Ace moaned, "Surely the TARDIS can make a quick decision on where to go."

"No," the Doctor told her sternly, "There's no need to rush the TARDIS, she's a faithful companion and always has been."

He stroked the console affectionately.

"I've suggested to you in the past that you could find something to amuse yourself," the Doctor continued, "As I've said before, there's always something knew to discover in this old TARDIS of mine."

"Like what?" Ace asked, with a tone of sarcasm, "All I've ever seen in here are white walls everywhere."

The Doctor noted her observation. It was true that the TARDIS itself was bland, once you got past the fact that the ship was a nineteen sixties police box, where the inside was bigger than it was on the outside. And there was a lot more on the inside than anyone could possibly imagine.

"Believe me, Ace, I'm sure you'll find something," the Doctor told her.

He gave Ace a quick smile, before returning to the console, checking to make sure that the TARDIS hadn't fallen out of the Time Vortex or anything else that was catastrophic. While it was a trustworthy ship, the TARDIS malfunctioned every so often and the Doctor was anxious to keep it from malfunctioning too much. The TARDIS was as old as he was.

"Ace, just go and do something, anything that will take your mind of sitting around," he advised, "Avoid the mundane for as long as possible, Ace. That's what I've been doing for a long time now. And if you think it's bad for you, try nine hundred years or so."

At this point, the Doctor noted that Ace had decided not to argue anymore. She had walked off and left the console room, whilst the Doctor still pondered to himself. As he had told Ace, his current lifestyle really was dull. Nearly every adventure was the same. There was an enemy and the Doctor defeated it. It was all too easy, after several hundred years of defeating evil in the Universe, whether it was from the dawn of time or his best enemy. Things just weren't as exciting anymore.

Suddenly, one of the many lights on the TARDIS centre console began beeping frantically. It looked like a distress call. Believing that the unexciting life that the Doctor had been having would soon be avoided. The Doctor answered the incoming call, this particular one being a message.

"Please help, anybody help. Calling for assistance, reinforcements, anything, but please help, before it's too late."

There was something familiar about that message. A voice from an adventure from sometime ago. Even his discussion with Ace seemed rather too familiar. Something was going on and the Doctor didn't like it. The message seemed to be quite brief, so the Doctor turned it off and tried to remember whose voice sounded so familiar.

"Ace!" the Doctor shouted, "Come and listen to this. See what you think of it."

Ace came running in, almost relieved that something was going on. The Doctor could tell that she wondering what was so exciting, but when the Doctor did play her the message, she was just as intrigued with the message as he was.

"Don't you get a feeling of déjà vu? Ace asked.

"Yes," the Doctor answered, quite simply, "I've been thinking the same. The all-too familiar repeating itself. That voice sounded like that of General Kahn."

"So what do we do?" Ace asked.

"We're going to go and see what's up," the Doctor told her, "Whether it's the First World War again, which my people managed to sort out or another war, I want to find out what's going on. I hate being left in the dark."

As the Doctor plotted the coordinates that the message had been sent from, he could hear Ace mutter behind him:

"Same here, Professor."


	8. Chapter Seven

**

* * *

**

**Doctor** **Who**

**A Museum of Time Lords**

* * *

**_Chapter Seven_**

_The Two Masters_

The Master stood alone in his TARDIS, wondering what to do next. He knew that he had to escape the never-ending war soon, if he was ever going to survive, but he had other things on his mind as well.

The Master was still suffering with the virus he had contracted from the Cheetah People, some time ago. He had been searching the entire universe, hoping to find a cure, but he hadn't been too lucky. Instead, he had got himself caught up in some war, with an enemy who he had no hope in defeating and the words, "Cothdorte" still in his mind.

Like his thoughts, the Master's TARDIS interior was dark and little lighting was available too him. He didn't particularly care how his TARDIS looked at the moment, as he was too busy trying to get the faulty time and space machine to dematerialise.

Unfortunately, he hadn't had too much luck with that either. Before the Master got involved with the war, his TARDIS had malfunctioned and refused to work ever since it happened. He was now on attempt number sixteen, hoping that the TARDIS would finally work, but to no avail.

"Stupid machine!" the Master yelled, banging his fists angrily on the centre console of his TARDIS.

Suddenly, the Master felt a horrible pain in his stomach. The virus was getting stronger and he was getting weaker. His body couldn't cope with the virus anymore. It didn't help that the body that the Master had wasn't his own. His current body wasn't one of a Time Lord, but of a Trakenite. Still, being a Trakenite was better than being a human; otherwise he would've died long ago, due to humans being much weaker.

The Master tried to get the TARDIS to work again on its seventeenth attempt. He still had no luck. It looked as if he was going to be spending yet another day fighting in the war, with thousands of people he couldn't care less about and fighting against an unbeatable enemy.

Pressing a button on the console, the TARDIS doors opened and the Master walked over to the door. Despite giving up with his TARDIS tonight, he wasn't going to give up yet. He was determined to find a cure for his virus, escape the war and get back to what he did best, causing trouble.

* * *

The war was going really well for the Master on his own ship. Currently, he was watching the war from his own fully functioning TARDIS, enjoying himself immensely, as he watched ship after ship getting taken down by his own army of mass destruction.

Despite getting over the Cheetah People virus sometime ago, the Master's Trakenite body had grown weaker over time and he had reverted back to his old deformed corpse-like self. So once more, he was on the hunt for another body, whether it was human, Trakenite or anything else that was suitable. He hoped that he could regain a Time Lord body again, so he had the ability to regenerate, if anything else went wrong.

What he found so hilarious about the war he was currently fighting was that his opponent was his past self, the Trakenite self. Due to being the future incarnation, the Master knew he had the advantage in the war and he knew how everything turned out in the end. His past self had all that to discover.

The Master, unlike his past attempts of evil acts had a motive. This time, he wasn't doing things his way, but through someone else. Someone who had far more power than he ever could have. Cothdorte.

The Master hated to serve anyone, but this time, greater things would come, if he served him. Cothdorte had promised him unlimited power in the universe, as well as another body for him to take and the best thing about it was that it was a Time Lord body.

Despite all these promising things that were to come, if the Master went through with the war, there was something familiar about the name, "Cothdorte". He didn't want to think about it, but he couldn't help feeling a bit suspicious.

Whoever Cothdorte was, the Master wasn't going to just roll over and accept everything. He was determined to find out who Cothdorte was and what his intentions were, even if it meant betrayal (which the Master knew that he was very good at anyway).

But for now, the Master was going to win the war for Cothdorte, get his rewards and then he would carry out the next phase of his plan.

* * *

As the TARDIS landed on the war ship, the Master had one question in his mind. Why did he have to be on the losing side of the war? Why did he always end up being the loser?

"Master!" someone shouted.

Normally, the Master felt more intimidating whenever anyone called him Master, but he just didn't feel anything at the moment. He turned to see his second-in-command, Colonel Marek.

"What is it now?" the Master asked impatiently.

The young colonel shook slightly. Then again, the Master was the fiercest leader in this war and he enjoyed scaring people, whether he intended to do so or not.

"Our numbers are being thinned out by the enemy," the young colonel reported.

As if the Master wasn't in enough trouble already, now he had do deal with more. And it was so predictable to hear that the colonel was basically saying that his side were still losing.

"Fight back!" the Master commanded.

"We've tried, sir, but they're too strong," Marek retorted, "There's nothing we can do."

The Master was starting to get annoyed. He was too impatient to stand around arguing, whilst a war was going on.

"Get back out there and make sure that our side win!" the Master snarled, "If you don't, then I will kill you and claim that you committed treason, because I can do that you know."

Marek shook even more at these words. The Master could tell that this young man didn't want to die early.

"Of course, Master," the colonel obeyed, "I shall not fail you."

And with those words he left, ready to fight once more. The Master could tell, however that he wasn't determined enough to fight and he wouldn't be surprised if the fool chickened out later on.

"You better not, colonel," the Master muttered.


	9. Chapter Eight

**

* * *

**

**Doctor** **Who**

**A Museum of Time Lords**

* * *

_**Chapter Eight**_

_Separated_

General Kahn had felt a bit better, since his master had told him that he'd be on a winning side of a war for once. Losing was never good and the general was determined to win for once.

Kahn had no idea where he was being taken, but he had a feeling he was approaching one of the two large vessels that he could see from his passenger window. Above those two ships was another ship that belonged to his master and from there he could see everything occurring below.

The ship began to turn to its right, towards one of the battle ships. Kahn wondered if this vessel was where the winning side were. He hoped that his master was telling the truth and not forcing him to fight out another losing battle.

"We'll be arriving in a few seconds," the pilot announced, as the ship slowly approached the larger ship in sight.

* * *

Cothdorte was pleased with how his plans were going well. Daleks had invaded the planet below, his own universe was getting more and more interesting each and every day and he had just been watching an alternate version of the First World War in the other universe. It had been very interesting indeed.

But now, it was time for business and time to accept an incoming call. It was the elderly general once more.

"Kahn," Cothdorte began simply, interrupting whatever the general had to say, "Have you called to tell me that you've arrived at the destination I sent you too?"

"Yes sir," Kahn replied, "But, sir, you're telling the truth aren't you? About being on the winning side?"

"Would I lie to you, general?" Cothdorte asked, slightly offended by being distrusted.

Kahn shook his head, silently.

"Good," Cothdorte told him, "Don't ever doubt me again. Now, you'll be meeting up with the Doctor. Remember him?"

"Yes," Kahn answered, "Is he going to help me again?"

"Help?" Cothdorte asked back, "It depends what his intentions are, my dear fellow and he'll either be a friend or foe."

"He seemed friendly enough when I met him," Kahn stated.

Cothdorte sighed. It seemed that despite being a war hero, the general was not an intelligent man.

"What's to say he'll be different this time?" Kahn continued.

"As I told you earlier, his intentions aren't always good," Cothdorte snapped, "He may betray you for the enemy and turn the tide, so that you'll be on the losing side once more.

"No!" Kahn shouted suddenly.

Cothdorte was shocked at this, but managed to hide it well. The fact that Kahn had managed to stand up to him had surprised him, more than anything.

"You're getting a little too rebellious for my liking," Cothdorte warned, "I can't have that."

The general's face looked grim. Maybe Cothdorte was wrong, but were those tears in Kahn's eyes?

"No… please… I'm sorry," Kahn stuttered.

"Too late now, old man!" Cothdorte bellowed, enjoying the amount of control he had over one of his servants, "This discussion has proved that you aren't fit enough to handle the task ahead."

Kahn began to look even worse, perhaps doing it deliberately to get sympathy, but Cothdorte wasn't the soft type and he wasn't going to go easy on anyone.

"The thing is, general, you were never real," Cothdorte continued, "I created you. You were an android. Your death won't upset anyone, including me."

Kahn's head suddenly disappeared in a small explosion. The pilot had followed orders well and had destroyed Kahn on Cothdorte's request. Now he had to rebuild him, so history would remain the same, confusing as it already was.

Luckily for him, Cothdorte always prepared in advance and the original version of Kahn was waiting on the ship already and he had already sent a message to one of the other Doctors.

* * *

General Kahn approached his new leader's throne room. Unlike the throne room that Cothdorte stayed in, this one was well lit and more comfortable than before. The only difference from Cothdorte was that this leader looked like someone had tried to burn him to death, but failed. He looked like a walking corpse, a Grim Reaper like figure, hidden under a cloak.

"Speak," the new leader commanded.

"Reporting for duty, sir," Kahn responded.

"Good, I can see you'll be a fine addition to this war," the new leader replied, "I already know who you are, but you don't know me. I'm the Master and you'll obey me."

There was something hypnotic about those words as Kahn listened to them intently. He was going to obey this Master fellow, until his services to him had ended.

"I shall be very busy over the next hour," the Master told Kahn, "Report to me, if anyone arrives."

Kahn saluted the Master, as he walked away, leaving the general alone.

As Kahn prepared to carry out his first of probably many duties for the Master, he suddenly heard a strange noise. It sounded like a machine, trying to whirr and grind its way into the room.

Along with the noise, a shape began to appear, faint and ghostly looking. It was rectangular in shape and blue in colour. Kahn had no idea what it was, but he stood waiting for it to be silent.

Soon enough, the noise stopped and the shape finally appeared. Kahn raised his gun and pointed it at the strange object.

Unexpectedly, a door opened and two people came out of it. A man and a woman.

"Ah, General Kahn," the man said, "A pleasure to see you again."

Kahn gripped more tightly on his gun, still unsure of what to make of the two strangers.

"Who are you?" Kahn asked.

"Don't you remember?" the man asked back, "Of course, this must be your first meeting with me?"

"How'd you work that out?" the woman interrupted.

Kahn was pleased to notice that she looked just as confused as he did.

"The timeline, Ace," the man told her, "Time isn't always as simple as it seems."

Well, that didn't answer Kahn's question, but it answered another one.

"I repeat, who are you?" Kahn asked again, trying to sound a bit tough.

"Right, I'm the Doctor," the man explained.

The man now seemed to be speaking slowly, as if Kahn was a bit thick or foreign.

"And this is my friend, Ace," the man who called himself the Doctor continued.

Unexpectedly, several people appeared behind them and grabbed the young woman, Ace. Kahn realised that these people were the enemy from the other ship. If they wanted to take of the guests, they could have them for all he cared.

Perhaps separating them for a bit would be easier for Kahn to get to know just one person.

She struggled to break free from the enemy's grasps and as the Doctor tried to fight back also, the enemy fleeted, leaving the Doctor and Kahn alone together.

"What have you done?" the Doctor snarled, a mean glee in his eyes.

"Let me handle this, general," the voice of the Master intruded, "Hello again, Doctor."

The Doctor turned to see who had spoken. The Master grinned back at him.

"You," was the only thing that the Doctor could say.


	10. Chapter Nine

**

* * *

**

**Doctor** **Who**

**A Museum of Time Lords**

* * *

**_Chapter Nine_**

_Masters of Evil_

The Doctor didn't know what to think, as he starred at his greatest foe grinning like a loon in front of him. In a matter of seconds, Ace had been captured, his only possible acquaintance didn't know him yet and the Master was probably involved in another conquest of evil.

"Doctor," the Master said simply.

As the Doctor continued to look into the eyes of his enemy, his mind began to fill with endless questions, questions that he wanted answering.

"What are you doing this time, Master?" the Doctor asked, before turning round to see the puzzled face of General Kahn, "And who were those people that took Ace?"

Nobody said a word. The Doctor tried his best not to lose his patience at how badly the situation currently was, but he was struggling to remain tolerant. Luckily, someone had decided to tell him what was going on and it was the ever-trustworthy elderly general.

"Those people that took your friend were from an enemy ship," he told the Doctor, "I'm fighting another war, one that isn't like any I've ever fought before. I've never fought in space, until now."

_Just think of how bad things will be when you're fighting the First World War in space_, the Doctor thought.

"And, the Master…"

"Be quiet!" the Master snapped.

The Doctor was beginning to get suspicious. The Master was obviously trying to hide something, a dark secret perhaps.

"So, if you won't allow the general to speak on your behalf," the Doctor began, "Why don't you tell me what you're up to?"

"Nothing," the Master retorted.

The Doctor was surprised. He was hoping for a more intellectual discussion, especially with someone who was the same species as he was. A less intellect species would be excused, however.

"Liar," the Doctor whispered, "There's something going on behind the scenes. But, my question still remains. What is it?"

"You're going to be asking that question for a long time," the Master replied, "So, why don't you make yourself useful and rescue your faithful companion."

The Master strode off, leaving the Doctor alone with Kahn.

"What will you do now?" Kahn asked.

"For once, I'm going to take the Master's advice and save Ace," the Doctor told him, "But not until I know what I'm possibly up against."

* * *

Ace didn't know where she was being taken to, but it probably wasn't going to be anywhere special or great. Being taken away from the Doctor always meant trouble.

Someone approached Ace and the people that had held her captive. There was something familiar about him.

"You!" Ace bellowed.

It was the Master, who according to the Doctor was one of the many enemies he ran into every so often. Ace had only met him once, but only briefly.

With one wave of his hand, the guards that held Ace firmly loosened their grasp and left her alone with the Master. It wasn't her idea of a pleasant meeting, especially with someone as treacherous as the Master.

"Ah, the Doctor's faithful companion," the Master began, "Remind me who you are again?"

"Ace," Ace told him.

"Named after an old Earth slang term," the Master noted, "That can't be your real name. Tell me what it is."

Ace was always embarrassed, whenever it came to telling people her real name. It was Dorothy, but she didn't want people to know she was called that, since she thought it was such an embarrassing name.

Why was the Master even asking Ace her real name anyway? She had a feeling that both the Doctor and the Master's names weren't their real ones either, but she never bothered asking them what it was.

"Silent type," the Master continued, "It doesn't seem like you at all."

The Master seemed to have forgotten about the whole name business, but Ace didn't particularly care. She hated personal questions like that, even more so when it was centred around names that she thought were best left forgotten.

"Yeah, well…" Ace interrupted, but she think of anything else to say.

The Master looked at her.

"Don't be shy," he told her, in a soothing voice, as if he was trying to gain her trust, "Speak your mind and tell me what you're thinking."

Ace wasn't going to get coaxed into liking him and she didn't. He was bad enough the first time she'd seen him and this occasion was no different.

"Did you bring me here?" Ace asked.

The Master nodded. Surprised, Ace was wondering what the scumbag was going to say next.

"I have spies on the enemy ship," he told her, "I need the Doctor's help and if he wasn't going to show up on my ship, then there was every possible chance he'd land on the one opposite. Getting you captured was the only way I can convince him to meet up with me once more."

"But why didn't you just get the Doctor?" Ace asked, "You could've easily had two for the price of one, getting both me and the Doctor with the amount of idiots you got to take me here."

"The lack of intelligence in a human mind," the Master muttered, "Think about it. The benefits to capturing you and only you are far greater than any other possibility. As I've already said, I wanted to make his life a bit harder by making him come out to fetch you. That is, if he cares enough about you."

"Oh he does," Ace retorted.

"But does he really?" the Master asked back, "For all you know, he'll spend as much time as he needs on the other ship, to find out the situation first. That's another reason why you were the only one captured. If he can find out about the enemy for me, I can find a way to win this war. Unfortunately, I doubt the Doctor will be here any time soon to help me, so you'll be his substitute, whether you like it or not."

Now Ace didn't like the sound of that and she had a gut instinct that if the Doctor could hear this, he'd be the same too.

"Come with me," the Master continued, "There is much to be done."

Ace didn't like the sound of that either and she had no intention to work with the enemy.


	11. Chapter Ten

**

* * *

**

**Doctor** **Who**

**A Museum of Time Lords**

* * *

_**Chapter Ten**_

_Truce_

The Master walked as quickly as he could, impatient to succeed for once. He had made sure that Ace was following him, as she was the perfect bait to bring the Doctor to him and then he could steal his TARDIS, at the right opportunity, assuming that the controls could be controlled by anyone and not just the Doctor.

Immediately rushing over to the centre console, the Master prepared to get into contact with the Doctor's TARDIS, primarily to talk to him.

If the Doctor knew what was good for him, he'd respond to the Master's call and do what he did best. Save the day.

* * *

The Master was certain that he would win this war here and now. His previous self's army had been reduced to a small number of survivors and there was no chance that they would win now.

"Master, I hope you aren't enjoying yourself too much. You still serve me, remember."

Gritting his teeth, the Master averted his eyes from the space battlefield and turned to see Cothdorte once more.

"I've done what you wanted!" the Master spat, "I've served your purpose, now it's time that you serve mine!"

Cothdorte smirked and the Master didn't like it at all.

"I don't serve anyone, Master," Cothdorte warned him, "Especially not you."

"You promised me a new body, a new regeneration cycle!" the Master yelled, "A new life, one that doesn't involve being your personal slave!"

Cothdorte was certainly enjoying himself, annoying the Master. He began to laugh uncontrollably, as the Master tried not to go off in a frantic rant.

"You don't need to remind me of what I promised you," Cothdorte remarked.

The Master glared at Cothdorte, feeling an irresistible urge to kill him right at this very moment. The one person he had hated for a long time had tricked him and he should've known better.

"Who do I remind you of?" Cothdorte asked.

The Master knew the answer, but he didn't want to admit it and he wasn't going to give Cothdorte the satisfaction of being reduced to a mere servant, a feeling which he hadn't felt, since living on his home planet of Gallifrey.

"You," Cothdorte continued, "That's right, Master, I'm everything you aspired to be and I know that you'll never achieve success, no matter how hard you try. Your success in this war has only been because of me and me only."

The Master knew he was wrong. He had already lived out this war, so how else could he have known how the war had turned out? He had never needed Cothdorte's advice or strategy plans. His own methods were much better.

Furious and annoyed at being humiliated like this, the Master turned off the machine, which showed Cothdorte's smug face sneering at him.

Free once more from the shackles of servitude, the Master now had a new motive. To get his revenge on Cothdorte, no matter how long it took.

* * *

The Doctor had done nothing, but thinking up ways to rescue Ace. He could've obviously used his TARDIS to travel to the other ship, but for all he knew, there would be soldiers there, dying to execute anyone, no matter whether they were friend or foe.

Forcing Kahn to help him out in this desperate time, the Doctor had listened to several strategies of rescuing Ace from the enemy ship. They had included a strike team, fighting their way to her, but the Doctor had disliked that idea as he had a loathing for violence. Brains over brawns were more important to him any day.

"Can you hear something?" Kahn asked.

"Be quiet, I'm thinking," the Doctor scolded, still plotting up various ways of a rescue operation.

"No, listen!" Kahn told him, demanding the Doctor to listen.

"Stay here!" the Doctor shouted back.

The Doctor was going to argue back, telling him to let himself think, but he could hear something to. A voice and it was coming from inside his TARDIS.

Running back over to the TARDIS, the Doctor walked inside, to see who was speaking. There was nobody there and it was another message and to the Doctor's dismay, it was from the Master, another version of him.

Pressing a button on the console, the view screen opened up and the Master appeared on the screen. The Doctor was sure that it wasn't the most pleasant sight that had graced the screen.

"What is it, Master?" the Doctor asked coldly, "I don't have time for another of your pathetic schemes."

"I have a friend of yours with me, Doctor," the Master countered.

The Doctor had a feeling that it was Ace and he was right. The Master had pulled Ace towards him, so the Doctor could see.

"Ace!" the Doctor called out, "Are you okay?"

Before Ace could even answer, the Master pushed her away and a look of glee appeared on his face.

"Give her back to me, or else," the Doctor threatened.

"Or else what?" the Master asked back, "Do your own dirty work, Doctor and fetch her yourself."

"Or bring her back to me!" the Doctor argued back, "If you want a truce from this war, I'll make sure you get one."

"You don't know what I want," the Master muttered.

The Doctor was ignoring the Master, as he noticed the other Master walking into the TARDIS.

"What are you doing here, Master?" the Doctor asked.

"Who's there?" the Master from the view screen asked.

"Trust me, you won't like it," the Doctor warned.

The corpse Master approached the screen, so his other self could see him. The Doctor couldn't help, but smile at this sight.

"The funny thing is that it's usually me dealing with myself," he told the two Masters.

"Be quiet, Doctor!" the corpse Master shouted.

"Have I been fighting you this whole time?" the other Master asked.

The Doctor had decided to observe the whole conversation that the two Masters were having. He didn't want to miss a thing and besides, would he ever have another chance of watching two versions of another Time Lord, besides him arguing with each other?

"Yes," the corpse Master replied, "Having already lived out your life, I know that I win the and I know what you'd say or do."

The Doctor had a feeling that this exchange would take some time, so he hoped that at some point, he could rescue Ace.


	12. Chapter Eleven

**

* * *

**

**Doctor** **Who**

**A Museum of Time Lords**

* * *

**Starring:** The Second Doctor, Jamie and Zoë  
**Enemies:** The Daleks and the Malavice  
**Location:** Tramond XXV

* * *

**_Chapter Eleven_**

_Bad Landing_

It was another lonely night on the TARDIS. The Doctor stood alone at the centre console of the time and space machine, whilst playing the recorder, his favourite pastime. He played to himself, trying to figure out why he couldn't play _I am the Walrus_ correctly.

"Oh this won't do at all!" the Doctor shouted to himself.

He had given up with the famous Beatles song, but perhaps he could try again later, after a good long rest. The TARDIS continued to make its low humming sound, as the Doctor decided to retreat to his living quarters. Suddenly, a loud beeping sound made a horrible noise, drowning out the peaceful humming.

Wondering what was wrong, the Doctor returned to the console and found that none of the controls were working. They simply refused to do anything, no matter how hard he tried.

"Oh no!" he muttered a little too loudly, banging his fists in anger on the console at the same time, "My giddy aunt, no!"

As the Doctor tried to figure out what was going on with the TARDIS, a door opened from behind him. It was one of the Doctor's travelling companions, Jamie McCrimmon.

"Are you alright, Doctor?" the young Scotsman asked.

"Sorry Jamie, did I wake you up?" the Doctor asked, as he stood back from the console for the first time in seconds.

The way Jamie looked pretty much explained how he felt. The Doctor felt guilty for disturbing one of his companions at a time like this.

"Oh aye," Jamie told him, "I was having a good dream too."

This only made the Doctor feel even guiltier. He knew just how much Jamie liked to have his beauty sleep.

"Look, I'm sorry Jamie," the Doctor began, "I just lost my temper that's all."

"What's wrong?" Jamie asked.

The Doctor had a quick check again. The TARDIS still wasn't responding to him and he was beginning to get a bit worried. However, he wanted to still look dignified, even though he hadn't sorted out what was wrong yet.

"The TARDIS is having a little hiccup, that's all," the Doctor lied.

The Doctor hoped that Jamie didn't realise that the problems with the TARDIS were much more serious than they seemed. The noises were beginning to get louder and louder, with each passing moment.

"It's starting to sound like a big hiccup to me," Jamie pointed out.

Noises were starting to go off in the console room, beeping and droning from all directions. The Doctor took yet another look at the TARDIS, determined to find out what was wrong with the old girl, but he was distracted.

"Doctor, Jamie, what's going on?" a voice called from the opposite side of the room.

_Splendid_, the Doctor thought mockingly. It was the Doctor's other companion; Zoë and she too had been sleeping. Unlike Jamie, however Zoë didn't need as much sleep as much as Jamie did and she understood technology better than he did too, so the Doctor knew that she'd be of greater assistance, if need be.

"There's something wrong with the TARDIS," Jamie told her.

"I can see that," Zoë retorted, "But what exactly is wrong?"

The Doctor decided to take a quick break to explain the situation to Zoë in greater detail, but as he did so, he banged his head under the TARDIS console. As he emerged from underneath the console, he was rubbing his head and to the Doctor's embarrassment, his companions had noticed.

"Right!" the Doctor began, a bit too sharply, "Now, it appears that whatever is going on with the TARDIS is more serious than I thought."

"So what's going on?" Jamie asked.

"We're about to crash, I'm afraid," the Doctor told him, shrugging his shoulders, "Sorry."

As Jamie and Zoë looked at each other, wondering how bad the situation would end up, the Doctor held onto the console, hoping he wouldn't do something stupid like bang his head on the console and end up regenerating again. It was bad enough the last time he had done it.

"Hold onto something, quickly!" the Doctor commanded, "I have a terrible feeling this is going to be a bit of a bad landing."

Jamie and Zoë obeyed and the view screen opened to show them where the TARDIS was going. It looked like only a quarter of it was in sight and the Doctor was certain it was.

Due to how bumpy it was in the TARDIS, the Doctor could tell that it wasn't going to dematerialise in another place like it usually did. Instead, the TARDIS was flying, rather rapidly now as the old time and space machine swivelled faster and faster, as it accelerated towards the unknown planet.

* * *

Tramond XXV was a strange planet and everyone who lived there knew it. The sky was green and standing out was a giant purple square sun and orange coloured rectangular shaped clouds.

Unlike most planets, half of the planet was inaccessible. Nobody knew why, but it was impossible to get past a certain point on the planet's surface. People had of course, complained, but they had never received any reply from the administration. So as the complaints carried on, the Tramond people lived their lives as normally as possible, waiting and hoping for an inevitable answer any time soon.

* * *

On landing, everyone fell to the ground. Normally, the Doctor blamed this on not holding onto something tight enough, but when everyone fell down, then the landing must've been hard on everyone.

The Doctor stood up, dusting himself off.

"Jamie, Zoë, are you okay?" he asked.

Perhaps he shouldn't have asked, as he noticed both of his companions lying on the floor.

Jamie heaved himself up and helped Zoë to her feet. He didn't seem too happy with the recent crash.

"That was some landing, Doctor," he replied, bitterly.

"Yes, I think the landings the TARDIS makes are getting worse," Zoë agreed.

The Doctor was astounded at how his friends had decided to distrust the capabilities of the TARDIS.

"Worse, no I don't think so," he disagreed, "She's just not as young as she used to be."

The Doctor usually got overprotective of his ship, at moments like these. After the few people that had joined him in his travels, the TARDIS was the one constant companion that stayed with him throughout. He couldn't dismiss her lightly now, after all his time travelling around the good old cosmos.

Besides, he didn't want to stand around arguing, he wanted to find out where the TARDIS had actually managed to land.

Returning to the console with this in mind, the Doctor looked at the monitor. Something was definitely wrong with the TARDIS and it didn't look good, whatever it was.

"What is it?" Jamie asked.

"Nothing," the Doctor replied, "There's no information on where we are."

"What, no information about what planet we're on or time zone?" Zoë posed.

The Doctor shook his head. He didn't like the funny turn the TARDIS had taken. Sure, she occasionally had problems, but they weren't usually as bad as this.

"The TARDIS can't give us any information," the Doctor told her, "Normally, I'd see where we are, but due to how bad the TARDIS is at the moment, I want to see if I can fix her up a bit."

And so, the Doctor was going to do one of the more tedious jobs of travelling in time and space by repairing his own time and space machine.


	13. Chapter Twelve

**

* * *

**

**Doctor** **Who**

**A Museum of Time Lords**

* * *

**_Chapter Twelve_**

_Domination_

Kelnar hated being told what to do, whether it was by anyone who had a higher authority over him or anyone who tried to tell him what to do, but had no important status to take charge of a situation. Normally, he was in charge of the whole operation on Tramond XXV, but then those Dalek creatures appeared and started to take over as the leaders and now he had been reduced to being a lowly servant.

The first impression that Kelnar had of the Daleks were that he didn't like them at all. They were emotionless and slightly scary, but he didn't want to look like a coward in front of them. As long as he didn't show his fear to them, he'd be okay. Survival meant everything to him at the moment.

A door opened and three of the tank-like looking Daleks entered the room. Kelnar tried to look like he was actually doing something, but the Daleks had already caught him out.

"Why are you not working?" one of the Daleks asked, in it's typical monotone voice.

"I was working," Kelnar snapped, quickly trying to think of a respectable answer, "But give a man a break, I can't do everything in one go. I'm only human, you know."

The Daleks didn't take too kindly to this. All three of them surrounded him, their weapon arms aimed at him. Kelnar knew what to expect and he just hoped that it was done sooner rather than later.

"Being human has made you weak," a Dalek stated.

"You're usefulness has kept you alive," another Dalek continued.

"If you hadn't proven how useful you were to the Dalek cause, you would've been dead by now," another Dalek added, pretty much repeating what the other Dalek had already said.

Kelnar grinned. Dalek conversations were similar to talking to yourself, but he didn't dare tell them this, as he was asking for it already.

"I kind of figured that," he replied, "What do you want me to do?"

"Do as you've been told," the third Dalek told him, "Monitor the planet's defences, unless we change your orders."

Kelnar bowed to them. He wasn't sure if Daleks appreciated this, but it was better than not acknowledging them at all.

"As you command," he obeyed.

He turned to review what was going on with the control databanks and something strange had appeared on one of the many screens. Beyond the closed off part of the planet, life had been indicated. Kelnar was sure that the Daleks would be interested in this and even if it wasn't, it was better than nothing.

"Stop!" Kelnar shouted, a little too loudly.

The Daleks were about to leave, but had to return their gaze to him.

"Speak!" a Dalek shouted back.

"According to my instruments," Kelnar began, preparing to choose his words carefully, "It appears that there is someone or something living in the closed off part of the planet."

"Inspect," a Dalek commanded.

Kelnar thought that he would have to inspect what he had already inspected, but one of the other Daleks moved towards him and he immediately stepped out of the way, so that it could see what he was talking about. After a few seconds of checking up to see if he was telling the truth, the Dalek turned and looked at the other Daleks.

"The human is correct in his analysis," the Dalek stated.

"I do have a name, you know," Kelnar interrupted, rather offended at being called, human.

"Silence!" one of the Daleks screeched.

Kelnar would've apologised, but he couldn't manage anything besides a silent grunt. The Daleks didn't seem to have noticed anyway, as they were busy discussing amongst themselves and they weren't putting much effort into keeping their conversation private.

"What do we do now?" one of the Daleks asked.

"We shall find the intruder and exterminate them," another Dalek answered.

"But there could be more than one," the other Dalek pointed out, "There could be a whole army outside."

"War has never bothered the Dalek race before," the first Dalek retorted, "Nothing can better the power of the Daleks."

Kelnar waited, feeling rather shifty, as he continued to listen in on the Dalek's debate. The discussion seemed to have ended and the three Daleks turned around to see him once more.

"You shall continue with your work," a Dalek told Kelnar.

"Fair enough," Kelnar replied, unsure of what else he could say at this point.

At the moment, Kelnar couldn't even be bothered to try arguing with the Daleks. All of his co-workers had disagreed with the Dalek's methods of running a planet and for their (perhaps correct) opinions; they had been killed, because of it. Kelnar was afraid to see the same fate, even if it did mean he had to share the same views that the Daleks did.

"The domination of the Daleks will continue!" all three of the Daleks cried out, as they left the room.

Kelnar was rather sceptical that domination meant anything good. Still, if domination meant the Daleks would be out of his sight for a while, the sooner they left the better. Plus, the sooner their business on Tramond was over, the better.

* * *

Loraq had been waiting outside for ages, nowadays demanding for an answer as to why the planet had changed so suddenly over the past couple of weeks. She couldn't get back to her home, as it was on the planet's blocked side and without any explanation, she was refused to rest until she got one.

Wherever the Tramond regime were, it was about time they showed themselves and gave the public some reason as to why life on Tramond was so miserable.

Loraq heard a noise near the building she had just been protesting outside of. Nobody else seemed to have heard it, but this didn't bother her. Sneaking towards where the sound had come from, she hid in the bushes, to see what was happening.

And sure enough, three black machines of some sort, where moving slowly forward, towards the "forgotten" forest (meaning that it wasn't really forgotten at all), where a few of the Tramond people lived. Loraq's own house was there and if these machines even dared enter her own home, she'd certainly have a lot more to complain about.


	14. Chapter Thirteen

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* * *

**

**Doctor** **Who**

**A Museum of Time Lords**

* * *

_**Chapter Thirteen**_

_Captured_

Trying to repair the TARDIS wasn't an easy job and it wasn't going too well. Luckily, the Doctor had managed to fix some of the basic things, like the many instruments on the console, but the TARDIS itself still wasn't working.

As the Doctor continued to work away, he was well aware of how bored Jamie and Zoë were, but he couldn't do anything to try and make them feel better. They wanted to help, but the technology of the TARDIS was far too complex for either of them (even Zoë) and they wouldn't be able to assist him at the moment.

Deciding to take a short break, the Doctor stood up from underneath the console and looked at his two companions.

"Right, do you two want to take a walk or something?" he asked, "I have a feeling that work on the TARDIS won't be finishing anytime soon."

Jamie and Zoë looked at each other, both of them looking unsure.

"What, outside?" Zoë asked.

"She's right Doctor, anything could be out there," Jamie added.

Jamie wasn't wrong there. The Doctor always used to check where the TARDIS had landed on previous escapades, but nowadays, the mystery of what was outside the TARDIS doors always fascinated him and he preferred not to know the facts straight away, no matter whether it meant life or death.

"Yes, well, if you're that suspicious of what's out there, just take a quick peek," the Doctor told them.

As the Doctor operated one of the now working controls on the centre console, the view screen opened up and a sight that none of the time travellers had seen before appeared.

"It's beautiful," Zoë commented, a little speechless.

"Oh aye," Jamie agreed.

The Doctor smiled to see his two companions faces lit up by the planet that had landed on. He too, believed that the planet was a sight to behold, with its green sky and blue grass, which was quite the reversal of Earth's environment.

The Doctor couldn't help but think that his home planet didn't look as remarkable as this.

"Are you sure you don't know where we are?" Zoë asked finally, once the initial interest had faded slightly.

Hoping that some of the basic essentials were working, the Doctor checked to see if he could give an answer. Clapping his hands together at the sight of something working, he read through the information quickly and recited it to his companions.

"We're on Tramond XXV," he began, "Apparently it's a planet on the edge of the universe…"

The Doctor stopped and his face dropped. The edge of the universe didn't exist, as the universe was always expanding. No, the TARDIS must have got the information wrong somewhere.

"Oh no," the Doctor whispered.

"What's wrong with that?" Jamie asked, unaware of how strange a non-expanding universe was.

_Typical Jamie_, the Doctor thought, _but then again, how could someone from his time period know about the universe and how it worked_?

Zoë too, looked just as confused. The Doctor knew that despite her confusion, she knew what the Doctor was getting at.

"It's impossible," Zoë stated, "There can't be an edge to the universe."

"Exactly," the Doctor agreed, "But I don't know if I can agree with the TARDIS on this one. We're going to have to go out and find some locals of this planet and see what they know."

The Doctor reached for his rather large fur coat, just in case it got a little bit colder.

"But what about the TARDIS?" Jamie asked, as he and Zoë followed the Doctor.

"I'll fix it when we get back," the Doctor told him, "Now, let's go."

The TARDIS doors opened and they were about to enter a new world. The Doctor always loved this feeling and he was sure that his companions did too, no matter how much they doubted.

* * *

Loraq watched as the three black machines approached the "forgotten" forest. She wondered how they would manage to pass through the blocked off part of the planet, but somehow they did.

Loraq thought about whether she could pass through as easily as the machines could. It was worth a try at least and nobody else seemed to have bothered doing anything.

Taking a deep breath, Loraq walked closer to the forest, unsure of what would happen next. Suddenly, something pushed her back, causing her to slip and fall on the floor. Her head a bit sore from the fall, Loraq stood up and had a second attempt and the same thing happened. There was no point trying again, if it only resulted in her falling over.

As she rubbed her head for a second time, Loraq noticed that the machines couldn't be seen anymore. What she did see, however, was a box of some sort and three people standing beside it.

* * *

The Doctor rubbed his hands together, as he felt a cold chill. He didn't want to stand here for too long and he wanted to feel a bit warmer.

"Come on," the Doctor began, "Let's take a quick walk and warm ourselves up a bit."

So the Doctor and his two companions walked quickly, into the rural

"Doctor, why is so cold?" Zoë asked, shivering slightly.

"Yeah, the sun's out look," Jamie pointed out.

The Doctor looked up and the sun blazed in the sky, like any other sun. As he looked up, covering his eyes from the light, he finally understood. This planet was unlike any other in the universe and here anything was possible.

"We're on a different planet," the Doctor concluded, "The laws of nature don't apply here and that's why everything is so different."

"Eh?" Jamie asked, completely confounded.

"For example, the sun here makes us cold, unlike the sun from Earth," the Doctor continued, "So for all we know, everything here has a different purpose, compared to anything on Earth."

Jamie was starting to understand, but before he could say anything, something snapped. Before anybody moved or asked what was going on, the Doctor held his hands up to silence his two companions.

"Stay very still," the Doctor whispered, "And be prepared for the unexpected."

The Doctor wasn't normally this cautious, but the noise had made him feel a little uneasy. From out of the bushes opposite, three dark creatures began to edge closer towards them.

As the Doctor walked backwards along with Jamie and Zoë, the Doctor realised that the three dark creatures were Daleks, an evil race that he had encountered several times in the past.

"Halt!" they shouted, "You are now prisoners of the Daleks! Surrender!"

The Doctor didn't see any point of trying to retreat, so he raised his hands in defeat. He beckoned his companions to do the same, before they attempted to run and get themselves killed. They did so and the three Daleks circled them, essentially preventing them from making any quick escapes.

"Oh crumbs," the Doctor muttered, as he began to expect the worst.


	15. Chapter Fourteen

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* * *

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**Doctor** **Who**

**A Museum of Time Lords**

* * *

**_Chapter Fourteen_**

_Another Invasion_

The Doctor watched patiently, as the Daleks stood still, as if waiting to make their move at the precise moment.

"You shall come with us," a Dalek decided.

The Doctor didn't see anything bad about that. Of course, he'd be in custody for a while, but he was certain that he and his companions wouldn't be there for long. There was always a way out of the worst-case scenarios.

"Move!" another Dalek warned, "Or you will be exterminated."

_Another generic threat from the Daleks_, the Doctor thought.

Unexpectedly, the Doctor felt something push him forwards. This was obviously the Daleks forcing him where to go, but he wondered where he and his friends were being taken.

* * *

Cothdorte had been enjoying manipulating events from behind the scenes, in the Doctor's lifetime. With one Doctor captured and another one having to listen to two incarnations of the Master battle it out for a never-ending conquest, he had much to enjoy. Now, the Daleks had made life a nightmare on Tramond XXV and it wasn't going to end yet.

The door opened as it always did and Cothdorte prepared to do business. Thankfully, it wasn't SOL-3, who had for some reason hadn't been seen in quite some time, but this didn't bother him. He had better things to do than worry about some android. Instead, it was the two Malavice that had captured Lana, back on Maytarr.

"Took you long enough," Cothdorte spat, as they entered.

The Malavice lowered their scaly bodies towards Cothdorte. When they finally rose from the floor, they looked at him with their cold yellow eyes.

"We apologise for out lateness, Lord Cothdorte," one of the Malavice replied.

Cothdorte looked to his left, at the Malavice that had spoken.

"Before I tell you what you must do, remind me your name, Malavice," Cothdorte said.

At being addressed in this manner, the Malavice stiffened, but answered the question. Cothdorte was aware that Malavice always were a proud race and this one was no exception.

"Sarel," the Malavice on the left stated, "And this is my twin brother, "Arel."

Cothdorte chuckled upon hearing their names. The Malavice looked at each other blankly. They obviously didn't understand what was so funny.

"Such unimaginative names for two members of the universe's greatest predator race," he explained, "But that's not the point."

"What would you have us do?" Arel asked.

"My lord," Sarel added quickly.

Cothdorte was pleased that someone remembered how to address him properly. This particular Malavice had gained Cothdorte's respect and that was a rare feat to achieve indeed.

"The Daleks are currently on the planet, Tramond XXV," Cothdorte began, getting down to business, "They have successfully invaded and the planet is now restricted."

He paused, clearing his breath with a quick cough. Even though it was an everyday cough, he did feel weaker nowadays, but he didn't want to make it public and not even those closest to him (SOL and Mr Ohm) knew about his condition.

"Now, I need you to cause even more havoc and make life harder for the people on Tramond and the Daleks," Cothdorte continued.

At the mention of the Daleks, the Malavice began to shiver. Not even the greatest marauders could appear fearless where the metal pepper pots were mentioned.

"We're hunters, not warmongers," Sarel told Cothdorte, "And besides, we kill just to survive, nothing more."

"And the Daleks are more machine than men," Arel added.

"Quite," Cothdorte agreed, "However, you'll be the ones with the advantage. The Daleks won't be expecting anyone to interfere with their plans and they're certain that the planet is their own. The sooner you attack, the easier it'll be to invade and then you'll have another planet under your belt and believe me, I can assure you of that."

The two Malavice looked at each other. Cothdorte watched as he noticed Arel with a wide grin on his face, whilst Sarel looked doubtful.

"Why don't you both talk it over amongst yourselves, whilst I watch the Daleks going stronger and your chance of survival growing ever thinner," Cothdorte taunted.

"No, wait!" Arel shouted, "Please, my lord, we accept your offer and we shall do what you ask."

Throughout Arel's desperate effort at obeying Cothdorte's commands, Sarel was trying to stop his brother from agreeing, but failing miserably. Now Cothdorte wasn't going to give them any attempt at backing out of the deal.

"I knew you'd see sense," he told the two Malavice, "Now go."

* * *

It felt like hours, since the Daleks had captured the Doctor and his companions, but in actuality, it was only minutes. As the Daleks forced them through the forest, the Tramond sky had grown increasingly darker and it began to feel even colder on the ice-like planet.

Finally, in the glade of the forest, there was a small building. One of the Daleks left the time traveller's side and approached its metallic door. Daleks could crack any code, no matter how tough it was and in a matter of seconds, the door opened.

"Move!" a Dalek repeated.

The Doctor was tempted to sigh, but resisted it. 'Move' had become their latest favourite word, alongside 'Exterminate'.

Obeying as always, the Doctor, Jamie and Zoë walked towards the building, still unsure of what was going to happen once they were in there.

Soon, they approached what appeared to look like cells, all of them looking rather desolate and depressing. As one of the cell doors opened, the Doctor and his companions were thrown inside, being locked in.

"You shall remain here, until a decision is made what to do with you," a Dalek told them.

However, the Doctor was grateful to finally receive a break, as his feet felt sore. He could tell that Jamie and Zoë also felt the same way, as they resisted complaining and they were wise enough not to.

"Aye, we can't wait," Jamie muttered, after they were out of sight.

"So what are we going to do now?" Zoë asked.

"At some point, this is going to get really repetitive at some point in my life, but we are going to do what we do best, Zoë," the Doctor told her, "And that's to hopefully escape."

* * *

Despite being a Malavice, Sarel hated fighting. The only fights he ever made were to survive, which the rest of his species had also done, but for each kill he had made, guilt plagued him like an endless illness.

"The rest of our race is ready to fight," Arel whispered.

Arel always enjoyed bloodshed and this war was going to be no exception. Sarel could imagine him, dribbling with anticipation at the sight of a new place to live, breed and most importantly, survive.

"Are you ready to fight, brother?" Arel asked.

"Yes," Sarel answered, simply.

His throat felt rather dry. He also felt rather nervous, but he didn't want to feel the shame of being a little bit anxious.

"Then let us fight!" Arel called out.

The other Malavice joined in.

"For our God, Vimelaa!" Arel continued.

"For Vimelaa!" the rest of the Malavice bellowed.

"And let us fight!" Arel shouted.

Sarel felt the ship change its course and accelerate towards the planet below. War was about to begin and he began to feel even more nervous, as the Malavice continued to yell their empty threats to the Tramond people and the Daleks.


	16. Chapter Fifteen

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**Doctor ****Who**

**A Museum of Time Lords**

* * *

_**Chapter Fifteen**_

_Environmental Error_

Cothdorte had been observing the preparation stage of the war that the Malavice would hopefully provoke the Daleks with. Not only had he managed to trick the Daleks, he had also tricked the Malavice, essentially double-crossing both.

Oh the power was so brilliant to wield and Cothdorte enjoyed each time he used it. Between fire and night (a motto that had originated on Tramond XXV), the first Great War on Tramond XXV was about to begin.

* * *

For the Malavice, their swift landing on Tramond was a glorious entrance. The people down below were certainly surprised to see them, but also frightened. Not only had they received one menace invaded the planet, but another came into cause more havoc.

"Open fire!" Arel called out.

And with those words, ringing out across the planet, war had begun.

* * *

"What is that sound?" a Dalek asked loudly.

"Intruders, intruders," the other two Daleks responded.

"We shall find the intruders and exterminate them," the Dalek replied, "The domination of the Daleks must continue!"

The Daleks were off, leaving their new and only prisoners to rot inside their cell.

"What about us?" someone cried from the cell.

The 'someone' sounded like a female, but the Daleks didn't care. They had better things to do than answer questions.

* * *

_Great_, Loraq thought dejectedly, as she watched the devastation in front of her, _more trouble_.

Loraq recognised these creatures, as Malavice and she had no idea why they were here on this planet, at this very moment in time. Surely, they couldn't be trying to survive, yet again? It seemed to be their only tradition.

Before the notable event with the Malavice showing up, Loraq had returned to protest against the silent Tramond government with everyone else and they still hadn't shown themselves. Surely now, at a time of another invasion, they'd try and keep the peace amongst the society, but no such event occurred.

_That's politics for you_, Loraq thought annoyingly.

Loraq knew that this was not the time to reflect on her thoughts and she had to retreat, before she got turned into mince meat by one of the greatest (if ugliest) predators in the universe. Thinking like a Malavice, she ran, hoping to survive the ongoing attack.

* * *

Kelnar didn't like what he was seeing in front of him. Chaos had broken out across the planet and people were running around crazily, trying to outrun the new guests.

Kelnar didn't know what to do. The Daleks had forced him not to show himself to the public or give them any explanation as to why life on Tramond was worse than usual. He had been told to remain silent, a witness to all the depression on the planet, but not for much longer.

For once in his life, Kelnar was going to disobey the orders given to him and he was going to restore peace and order, even if it meant his death.

Pressing a nearby button on the control console, Kelnar quickly rebuilt the damaged communication system (the Daleks had destroyed it), so he could get the basic settings. He made an announcement.

"Attention, everyone!" he called, "Do not panic! These intruders will be dealt with shortly, I repeat, these intruders will be dealt with shortly! Please remain calm and find a good hiding place!"

"We've been betrayed by the human!" a Dalek shouted, as it and the other two Daleks exposed themselves into the open.

"We must exterminate him," another Dalek added.

In front of them, the Daleks could see the intruders.

"Exterminate!" the third Dalek called.

And before the intruders could react or even retreat, the Daleks exterminated both of them, leaving them for dead.

"Return to the prisoners," a Dalek commanded, "And I shall deal with the human."

Loraq was glad that someone from the Tramond government had decided to be heard, but the suggestion of not panicking didn't seem to work. If anything, it only caused more panic, as people tried to find a good place to hide. The Malavice were onto everyone though, cautious of every movement, making sure that nobody got away.

But who would be able to stop the Malavice? There wasn't an army on the planet, as the people on Tramond, whether human or not were peaceful and wouldn't dream of hurting anyone, even if they were provoked.

Loraq had decided to take the advice given to her and she was going to hide, whether she found a good place or not. Survival was very important right now.

* * *

The Doctor was fairly annoyed right now. Not only had he, Jamie and Zoë been in the cell, longer than he had originally anticipated, but something else was occurring on Tramond and he wasn't getting into the heart of the action.

"Do you think the Daleks will be back?" Jamie asked.

The Doctor sighed, even more annoyed that he had left his recorder in the TARDIS. Now he couldn't play anything to pass the time.

"I suppose so," the Doctor replied, "Once they've dealt with whatever is going on outside, so however long that'll take, we could be here..."

"What's that noise?" Zoë interrupted.

The Doctor and Jamie both listened hard to see if they could hear anything, but they couldn't.

"Now, now Zoë," the Doctor scolded, in a playful manner.

"You aren't hearing wee noises again, are you?" Jamie added.

"No, I'm serious, I heard something!" Zoë shouted back.

The Doctor was about to tell her to calm down, but then he heard something too. It didn't sound the Daleks at all, but he had no idea what it was. For all he knew, it could've easily been one of the peo

"What's done here then?" a voice asked.

"I don't know, Arel, but don't you think we should find out?" another voice asked back.

The Doctor didn't like the sound of this. Whoever these people were, they weren't likely to be allies to him or his friends. A miracle would be able to save them now and knowing their luck, miracles didn't come by very often.


	17. Chapter Sixteen

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**

**Doctor** **Who**

**A Museum of Time Lords**

* * *

**Starring:** The Fourth Doctor and Romana II  
**Enemies:** The Cybermen  
**Location:** Seta Tour ship

* * *

**_Chapter Sixteen_**

_Preparations_

Things had been harder than usual on the Doctor's life. A recent regeneration had taken place and for once, it wasn't the Doctor, he had encountered the Daleks and their creator once more and life travelling around in time and space didn't seem exciting at the moment.

And with all this in mind, the Doctor had decided to do something he hadn't done in quite a while. He was going to take a holiday, with Romana of course. Between a choice of a holiday and retirement, he had chosen the former, believing that the universe wasn't ready to get rid of him yet.

But now, he had to make another decision and it was the hardest and most important one of all.

"Decisions," the Doctor told himself, "I hate making decisions. Too many choices and too many possibilities that could've been, had I chosen the other decision."

The Doctor looked around to see if there was anybody else in the console room. He didn't want to see anyone looking at him, mumbling to himself in a small crisis (which hadn't happened since he went through a mid-life crisis recently). Luckily for him, there wasn't anyone in sight, except for a broken down K-9, which the Doctor still hadn't fixed. He had intended to get around to fixing that little tin dog one day.

"Romana!" the Doctor shouted.

The Doctor didn't wait for Romana to return to the console room, so instead he returned his gaze to the universal encyclopaedia that he was reading out of. He had narrowed the next possible location down to two choices. It was going to be Paris or a tour on one of the many holiday ships. What a hard choice he had to make.

"What is it, Doctor?" Romana asked, as she walked into the console room.

"What do you think?" the Doctor asked back.

"About what?" Romana asked back.

"Look, enough with the questions, Romana, what do you think?" the Doctor asked back, "A trip to Paris or a tour on a holiday ship?"

"I don't know, Doctor, you decide," Romana suggested, as she left the console room.

"I've already tried that!" the Doctor shouted after her, "It didn't work!"

He sighed again and chucked the thick book he was reading out of, into the corner of the room. If only K-9 was active. He'd be able to suggest a place for the Doctor and Romana to take a holiday to.

He walked over to K-9, his overlong scarf being dragged along behind him as he moved. The Doctor knelt down and patted the metal dog that was beside him.

"You know, K-9," the Doctor began, "Holidays are usually supposed to avoid stress, but they actually cause even more stress, because you have to make the right preparations. You have to make sure that you've packed everything you need and would like to take, as well as making sure…"

"Are you talking to yourself again, Doctor?" Romana called from a doorway to the console room.

The Doctor was slightly offended by this, but he didn't want to show Romana that.

"Only to K-9, does he count?" he called back, before continuing, "You know it's great to console your feelings to a silent, disinterested person or tin dog. Besides, I've talked to myself before and once quite literally and I don't want that to happen again. I shudder to think of what I'll be like if I end up alone again."

"So, have you decided where we're going?" Romana asked, as she stood behind the Doctor.

The Doctor jumped at the sound of Romana's voice and quickly stood up, to feel around the inside of his somewhat infinite pocket space, trying to find an excuse to avoid the question.

"You don't happen to have a coin on you, do you?" he asked, feeling a bit sheepish, "More specifically, an Earth coin. Like a pound coin, or a two pound coin, you know those kind of coin."

The Doctor watched as Romana felt around her pockets too.

"No nothing," she told him, before suddenly realising, "Why would I have an Earth coin on me anyway?"

"Nothing at all?" the Doctor asked her, ignoring her last comment, "Well, it looks as if the only way I was going to make a decision has gone."

"You think flipping a coin will help?" Romana asked.

"Of course," the Doctor answered, "It works for humans, why not me?"

"Because you're a Time Lord, like me?" Romana suggested.

"Romana, you're a Time Lady to be precise, Lord doesn't really suit you," the Doctor pointed out, "Now, where shall we go?"

Romana sighed. The Doctor could tell that she was getting a bit sick of this discussion, but it was important nonetheless.

"You decide," she suggested yet again.

"But I don't know," the Doctor retorted, "I can't make up my mind."

Romana sighed again and stormed off.

"Typical Time Lady," the Doctor muttered.

He returned to the console, trying to make the right choice. Paris sounded great, because the Doctor had never been there before (or at least, not long enough to appreciate it) and it was different from the usual United Kingdom territory, but it was on Earth and he had visited there a little too often.

However, the tour on a holiday ship also sounded good, due to how educational it could be and the sights of many interesting things, although being stuck on a ship with several strangers didn't particularly appeal to him.

With those advantages and disadvantages in mind, the Doctor had made his decision. He would go with the tour on a holiday ship and if he didn't enjoy it, Paris would still be there waiting, as a back-up plan.

"Romana!" the Doctor called, "I've made my decision!"

Romana returned to the console room, relieved at this.

"Finally," was all she could say, "So, where are we going?"

The Doctor could feel one of his inane grins coming on.

"You'll find out soon enough," he told her.


	18. Chapter Seventeen

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* * *

**

**Doctor** **Who**

**A Museum of Time Lords**

* * *

_**Chapter Seventeen**_

_Magical Mystery Tour_

Garon hated his job. He had been working in the holiday industry, for over twenty years and being stuck in employment, which wasn't enjoyable didn't help at all. Nothing exciting had ever happened and the pay was lousy.

To Garon's surprise, he could hear a strange noise. Originally, he had thought that he was just going insane and it was a sign that he needed to retire sooner rather than later, but everyone else seemed to hear it to. They discussed amongst themselves, asking each other different questions, however it was getting harder and harder to hear them after a while, as the noise grew louder and louder. As their discussions continued, a gust of wind began to blow, causing the guests some trouble, as they were blown backwards, collapsing onto each other and other such things.

Finally, the noise stopped and the wind died down. There was a moment of silence.

"Is everyone alright?" Garon asked, over the babble that had broken out amongst the guests.

Several people nodded, whilst others complained about the bad service they had already received.

_The nerve of them, they hadn't even checked in yet, let alone seen the actual tour_, Garon thought bitterly, as he tried to calm the unhappy guests down.

As he struggled to calm people down, Garon could see a blue box. Was that the thing that had been making that noise? Did it also cause the wind? Had it also been trying to make life more difficult than it needed to be? In any case, there were questions that needed to be answered.

The doors of the strange box opened and a man, with a ridiculously overlong scarf and a woman entered the room.

"Hello there!" the man bellowed, looking around at the confounded people surrounding him, "I didn't land on anybody, did I?"

The woman looked extremely embarrassed and sighed rather loudly. The man looked at her, as if she had done the wrong thing and not him.

"What?" the man asked, a bit too loudly, so that everyone could hear, "I need to make sure I haven't hurt anybody, otherwise I could be in a lot of trouble and I don't want to get into that again now, do I? Getting involved with our lot again won't look good on my…"

"Please excuse my friend," the woman interrupted, "He's a little bit eccentric."

Garon's eyes rolled, at this rather obvious point that the woman had made. Everyone could see that her friend was rather mad.

It was time to restore peace and order to the proceedings and Garon intended to do just that. He wasn't going to let some strange couple make matters harder for him.

"Let's resume business, shall we?" he called to the annoyed and confused guests, "If you could all form a queue and you can all get on the Seta Tour ship, courtesy of Mr. Cothdorte himself."

"Oh I can't stand queues!" the man announced, before anyone even had a chance to get back into line, "It takes forever for one to end."

The woman continued to look exasperated at her friend's unbearable and frankly unlike able behaviour (from Garon's point of view).

"Excuse me," Garon began, planning to choose his next words carefully, "But you'll have to get in the queue just like everyone else."

"Now listen to me," the man replied bitterly, taking a quick look at Garon's nametag, "Garon. Now, I'm the Doctor and I don't have time for queues and I don't have time for waiting around, now if you be a good chap and let me and my acquaintance, Romana onboard, I promise you'll never see us again for the rest of this trip."

Oh how that sounded rather good. Not seeing either of these two again would be a miracle. But there were regulations and he couldn't accept bribes, unfortunately.

"No," Garon stated simply, "Now get back in line, like everyone else."

Looking slightly taken aback at having his offer being refused, the Doctor sighed and he dragged Romana with him, pushing in at the front of the line.

"At the back of the queue, please!" Garon shouted.

The man sighed once more and he and the woman walked to the very end of the queue.

"Now, where were we?" Garon asked, once he was certain that everything was back to normal, "Oh yes, getting onboard the Seta Tour ship."

And the exciting part of his job was over.

* * *

"Why, Doctor?" Romana whispered angrily to the Doctor, "We've only just arrived and you've already embarrassed us."

The Doctor just looked at her, unsure of what she was trying to tell him. Sure, his behaviour might have been a bit rash just now, but he had done stupid things before and this wasn't likely to be the last time.

"How have I embarrassed anyone?" he asked back, "All I asked was if anyone was okay and that I hadn't hurt anyone and it all becomes chaos."

"Only because you don't think before you act," Romana scolded.

The Doctor grinned, which seemed to be ever typical for him at this time of his life, even when things got a little bit hectic. Even though Romana had only just regenerated, she was in some ways, still the stuck-up Time Lady that she had been in her first incarnation and all because she got a triple first at the Academy. At least, that was what the Doctor thought, as he did worse and only got fifty-one percent.

"Okay, I admit that sometimes I act like a bit of an idiot," the Doctor retorted, "But when you're my age, you don't have the time for little things like these."

"So, just because you're middle aged, it justifies your actions?" Romana asked.

"Yes," the Doctor answered, "And middle aged? How could you say such a thing? I'm middle aged, so what, but I'm in my prime and I'll probably last in this body for ages."

Romana ignored this comment, but the Doctor had decided to ignore her. He had other things to think about. He had considered using the TARDIS to materialise on the tour ship, but there was bound to be some ticket inspector making sure that there weren't any stowaways. Still, perhaps waiting in a queue wouldn't be too bad, but he hoped that the tour and hotel made up for it.

"The Magical Mystery Tour on the Seta Tour will begin soon," Garon announced, "The tour will begin, as soon as everyone is on board."

"I wonder if he means us too," the Doctor whispered, "But the Magical Mystery Tour is a great name, very retro."

Despite the holiday getting off to a bad start, the Doctor was certain that it'd be getting better all the time from here. Whether Romana thought the same, it didn't matter, but he was sure he'd find out later on.


	19. Chapter Eighteen

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* * *

**

**Doctor ****Who**

**A Museum of Time Lords**

* * *

_**Chapter Eighteen**_

_The Metal Men_

Getting on the Seta Tour ship seemed to take forever. The Doctor and Romana had already been waiting at least ten minutes and only five people had shown their tickets and actually got on.

The Doctor wasn't sure if Garon was deliberately taking his time with seeing various people, so he wouldn't have to see either him or Romana to soon, but either way it was unprofessional.

What surprised the Doctor was that nobody else was complaining. Surely he couldn't have been the only person to notice how slowly things were proceeding.

The Doctor was tempted to complain right now and demand why it was taking so long, but he'd probably embarrass Romana again, receive strange looks from everyone or get another droning reply from Garon. He left it, hoping that everyone would get on the tour ship sooner rather than later.

Fortunately, the Doctor did notice a change in how Garon was serving the many guests and thankfully, it was for the better. The queue was being reduced much quicker and people were getting served a lot faster than the last few people. By the looks of things, even Garon seemed more enthusiastic in getting everyone on board the tour ship.

In no time at all, the Doctor and Romana were at the front of the queue (not they had anyone to be in front of, as nobody else had arrived and due to the incident earlier, had resulted in them being at the back of the queue), in front of Garon once more. He didn't look to pleased to see them again though.

"Tickets please," Garon droned.

The Doctor felt around his many pockets, hoping he'd find two pieces of small paper, yet he didn't. Something was wrong.

"Romana, my dear, do you have the tickets?" the Doctor asked.

From the corner of his eye, the Doctor could see Garon smirking, but impatient to get on the tour ship, whether it was without them or not.

"Tickets please," he repeated.

The Doctor ignored him and watched as Romana too, fiddled around her pockets, but she couldn't find anything either. It was then he suddenly realised that he hadn't bought the tickets in the first place. It looked like this holiday wasn't improving at all and the way it was turning out didn't suggest any improvements.

"Listen, Garon, old chap, it appears that we've misplaced our tickets," the Doctor lied.

Romana glared at the Doctor. The Doctor was aware that she would be more organised in a situation like this, but he didn't want to look like an idiot alone.

"How unfortunate for you both," Garon replied, "Now if you don't mind, I need to get onboard and the Seta Tour ship needs to depart. Goodbye and nice meeting you."

"Is it possible that you have two more to sell?" Romana asked quickly.

"Perhaps," Garon answered, "I even have two first class tickets on me right now, but how much would you be willing to offer?"

Romana was about to say something, but the Doctor held his hand up.

"Don't answer him, Romana," he spoke rather quickly, "Do we really look like the kind of people who carry money on us?"

"No, not really," Garon responded.

"Exactly," the Doctor agreed, "We don't even have our own bank account."

"I thought not, now goodbye," Garon responded, bored of this conversation.

"No wait!" the Doctor shouted after him, "I have a whole bagful of jelly babies on me! Addictive stuff, you'd love it Garon!"

Garon simply turned away and walked onto the tour ship behind him, closing off the single entrance into the ship itself.

"This would never have happened in Paris," the Doctor stated moodily.

"Oh come on Doctor, it can't be all that bad," Romana suggested, "Surely, we wouldn't have been able to enjoy a holiday with a man as pompous at that."

"Yes, but I bet we wouldn't have seen him again, once on the ship," the Doctor told her, "Looks like it's time for what I hoped not to do."

"What, use the TARDIS to get on the ship?" Romana asked.

"You're so clever, Romana," the Doctor replied cheekily, "Of course that's what we're going to do."

And dragging her along with him, the Doctor ran back to the TARDIS, planning to smuggle them both on the ship. What good was a life of freedom if rules couldn't be broken from time to time?

* * *

With one thing out the way, Garon now had to make sure that the guests enjoyed the tour and the accommodation afterwards. At least the guests didn't include either the Doctor or his lady friend, so that was something and he'd probably never see them again.

Pleased with himself and how things were likely to be improving over the next few hours, Garon retreated to the back of the tour ship, so he'd be away from prying eyes. He had business to attend too and he didn't want to get involved in it, but he didn't have much choice and if he stayed with it, there was a chance that his life would be a bit more pleasurable.

The back of the tour ship was the storage compartment, where the supplies were kept, whether it was needed in an emergency or not. It was the perfect place for Garon to talk in privacy with his new associates. The only downside was that Garon wasn't sure if he liked these associates.

"I'm back," Garon muttered, expecting a reply from a cold, metallic voice somewhere in the storage compartment.

"We're one step closer to getting back to Telos," the voice replied, "You've done well."

Garon bowed to his hidden partners in crime, to where he thought they were hiding in the darkness.

"I'm glad to have been of some assistance," he answered, "But you're still going to give me what I want, aren't you?"

"Once we return to Telos, we promise to make your life a lot better," the voice stated.

"Thank you, metal men," Garon said appreciatively, still unsure of what their names actually were, "I shall proceed with the task at hand."


	20. Chapter Nineteen

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* * *

**

**Doctor** **Who**

**A Museum of Time Lords**

* * *

**_Chapter Nineteen_**

_Holiday Hijacking_

Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor began to frantically run around the centre console, plotting a course for the Seta Tour ship. He began to feel excited, at the prospect at breaking in, but he knew that he wouldn't be causing much harm. It wasn't as if he was going to try and cause trouble after all, as that would be improper.

"Doctor, don't go embarrassing us again, when we do get on the ship," Romana warned.

"Oh I won't," the Doctor lied, suspecting he'd do just that.

* * *

Garon felt rather uneasy, with what he had promised the metal men, but he was willing to go through with it just to get what he wanted. Still, he had to think positive and that Doctor fellow was nowhere near him.

Garon must've thought too soon, as he could hear a familiar noise and a familiar gust of wind, annoying both him and the guests.

"Remain calm, please!" Garon shouted.

The blue box appeared yet again and yet again, the Doctor and his friend walked out of it.

"Hello again!" the Doctor called, to the guests, before looking up at Garon, "Hello Garon! Lovely day for a tour, no doubt!"

Garon was shaking in fury at seeing him again. Not only had his task just got much more difficult, he had to be tolerant of the Doctor once more. Walking up to the Doctor and Romana, he decided to sort them out once and for all.

"You don't have any tickets, so would you please leave?" Garon warned, whispering so the guests wouldn't hear.

"No, my friend and I would like to see the tour," the Doctor snapped, "We did have tickets, but we lost them, so what proof do you need?"

"The tickets!" Garon retorted, "No sign of tickets, no seeing the tour!"

"If you let us watch the tour without tickets, what could we do to repay you?" Romana asked.

Garon smirked. He was glad that someone was thinking, but bribery wouldn't work, not after what he had asked the metal men to give him, once he finished his duty for them. But, this wasn't a deal to decline lightly. They must've been really desperate to see this tour in the first place.

"For now, relax and enjoy the tour and the holiday you have planned," Garon told them both, "I'll discuss with you both later what I'd like you to do for me."

Garon strolled away from them, preparing to carry out his other duties.

"I hope you find some free seats!" Garon taunted to the Doctor and Romana, giving into the temptation of getting his own back on the two.

* * *

Glad that Garon had finally come around to allowing them both on the tour ship without tickets, the Doctor struggled to find empty seats for him and Romana to sit in. The tour must've been popular as the majority of the seats were full up with guests.

"There surely can't have been this many people in the queue before," Romana whispered to the Doctor, as he nearly tripped over his scarf.

"There probably wasn't," the Doctor whispered back.

He was too busy trying to find some decent seats.

Unfortunately, decent seats were hard to come by at this stage. Most guests preferred to sit at the front of the ship (which was understandable as the sight was much better from there), so the Doctor and Romana were reduced to sitting in the seats, furthest away from seeing the marvellous sights upfront.

As the two of them tried to make themselves feel comfortable, the Doctor had degenerated into a bad mood, annoyed at how the holiday wasn't improving. Romana was ignoring this, but he wasn't trying to get her attention.

* * *

With a plan in mind, Garon strolled off to carry out the first phase of the metal men's plan. For reasons unknown to him, he had to get one of the guests to go with him to the storage compartment.

He had considered trying to get the Doctor to go along with him, but he'd probably refuse, so he had to find someone more idiotic, if that was at all possible or at least someone who wouldn't suspect a thing.

Looking around the tour ship, Garon decided to choose a guest carefully. Most of them seemed uninterested in anything, except the tour. He'd have to wait until someone grew tired of watching and listening to it and decided to take a quick break in the luxurious rooms elsewhere. He just hoped that someone wasn't the Doctor.

Thankfully, that someone wasn't the Doctor, but a rather portly gentleman who had sat near the front of the tour ship. Planning how to approach this man carefully, Garon waited until he had got as far away from him and the rest of the guests, before making conversation with him.

Once he was aware from the majority of the guests, Garon quickly walked over to him and made himself known to him.

"Hello there, sir," Garon said, enthusiastically, which wasn't like him at all, "I was wondering if you could help me."

The guest just looked at him and snorted.

"Help yourself," he replied rudely, "Your are a servant and I'm a guest and guests do not help servants."

Garon was rather taken aback by this, but refused to stand down. He was tempted to offend this man, but he had to remain professional, so he didn't bring any unwanted attention.

"If you help me, I can give you a free service for the rest of the time you're here," Garon suggested.

"Jolly good," the guest replied, dropping his previous rude behaviour from earlier, "What would you like me to do?"

The man was a fool. It only took one attempt to get the man to help Garon out.

Making sure he didn't give himself away, Garon remained as normal as possible. He led the man to the storage compartment, where the metal men had been hiding for ages.

"Who is this man?" one of them asked.

"A test subject," Garon replied simply, locking the doors, so nobody could leave, "Feel free to do with him as you please."

The man began to panic and as he tried to escape, the metal men came out of the shadows and grabbed him. Garon didn't watch, as they silenced the man and probably killed him.

"You've done a good job for the Cybermen," the metal men stated, "But you must get more, so we can create an army to go back to Telos with."

Garon bowed.

"As you wish," he told them.


	21. Chapter Twenty

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* * *

**

**Doctor** **Who**

**A Museum of Time Lords**

* * *

_**Chapter Twenty**_

_From Bad to Worse_

Despite initial excitement for the tour, it had been rather lacklustre, in the Doctor's opinion. He had at one point, fallen asleep and by the time he had woken up; most of the guests seemed to have disappeared.

_Who could blame them_? The Doctor thought, _after the bore that was this tour_?

It seemed that Romana had fallen asleep too and the Doctor decided to shake her awake. He felt alone, despite the fact that there were still several people in the ship and he needed someone close to him to talk to.

"Romana," the Doctor hissed, shaking her in the hopes of waking her up.

Thankfully, it worked and as Romana began to stir, the Doctor looked around him. The crowds of guests had been reduced to a few lingerers, probably still interested in the tour itself. It was still strange how the majority of the guests had left though.

"Romana, do you notice something?" the Doctor asked.

As Romana looked around to see what the Doctor had noticed, he couldn't help but think that he would've left this tour ages ago, had he or Romana not fallen asleep earlier on.

"Yes, there's hardly anyone here," Romana answered.

"At least we can sit at the front now," the Doctor said casually.

He grabbed Romana and dragged her towards the front of the ship. He sounded like he didn't care, just taking someone's front row seats, but he had wanted to see this tour up close and not having to be reduced listening to it from the back of the ship.

"Where do you think everyone's gone?" Romana asked.

The Doctor shrugged his shoulders. He had been tempted to say boredom, but he was certain that Romana wouldn't approve. Besides a cheeky answer, the Doctor didn't know what to say, but if he was going to try and keep focus on the task at hand, he was going to have to come up with something.

"Perhaps…" the Doctor began, still unsure of what he was going to suggest, "Perhaps that people have decided to take their holiday elsewhere."

"But the majority of the guests?" Romana asked back, "Surely someone would've been interested in this tour, had they bought the tickets and decided to watch it and get to the accommodation afterwards."

"Well let's face it, Romana we weren't that interested, after we both fell asleep part way through the tour," the Doctor replied.

For once, the Doctor had left Romana unsure of what she'd say to tell him off. Unfortunately for the Doctor, she eventually did come up with something to say.

"Oh let's just enjoy what's left of tour," Romana told him, "It can't be much longer anyway."

* * *

"I have done everything you've asked for," Garon told the Cybermen.

Garon had said this as boldly as he could, so the Cybermen wouldn't harm him or sense that he felt fearful

"Now, where's my reward?" Garon asked.

Garon knew he was beginning to sound paranoid, but after all the things he had done for the Cybermen, whilst they had rotted away in the storage compartment, he was owed something.

"You'll get your reward, once we return to Telos," the Cybermen replied, "Continue asking the same question and you shall suffer the same fate as the people you've been bringing to us."

Garon gulped. The idea of being converted into a Cybermen didn't appeal to him one bit and he was only doing their bidding, so he could be spared from conversion.

"I apologise," Garon told them, "I was just a bit impatient, that's all. It will never happen again."

Garon left the storage compartment once more, to get more guests for the Cybermen. This time, however, he didn't want to get any normal guests. He wanted to get revenge on the Doctor and Romana for all the trouble they'd caused.

Smirking to himself, Garon left the storage compartment; with the perfect plan in mind and that he'd have the ideal opportunity to get them to do what he needed them to do.

* * *

Romana had been wrong about the tour not being much longer. The Doctor had been waiting for it to end, but it was being told as if it was a never-ending story, going right into the facts with attention to detail. Normally, the Doctor appreciated this, but it just seemed to go on and on, with nothing interesting going on, whilst it was all happening.

And it went from bad to worse, as the Doctor noticed a familiar someone standing near him.

"Garon!" the Doctor spat, "What do you want?"

"Now, now Doctor," Garon scolded, "I let you and Romana on this tour and you promised that you'd owe me for this act of kindness."

The Doctor thought about this for a moment and then realised that he had made a deal with Garon. He couldn't back down on it now, no matter how much he didn't get on with the man.

"Yes, of course," the Doctor replied, "What can we do for you then, Garon?"

"I'd like you to help me tidy up the storage compartment," Garon told them.

_That was it_? the Doctor thought, _just a quick tidy-up, rearranging things and making them look a lot neater_? Garon could've asked for anything, but no, all he wanted was a helping hand in tidying up a small room that nobody but the staff went into. If anything, it'd be an honour to go into a staff only suite.

"Of course, Garon," the Doctor responded, "Romana and I would be happy to assist, wouldn't we, Romana?"

"Of course," Romana answered.

"Then please follow me and the sooner we finish up, the sooner you can return to this tour," Garon told them.

As the Doctor and Romana stood up from their seats, the Doctor couldn't help but think that after the disappointment that had been the tour, a quick tidy up was going to much more interesting.

* * *

The storage compartment was much darker, then when Garon had last been inside. He opened the door and allowed the Doctor and Romana inside. Afterwards, he followed them in and locked the door behind him.

"Say here, Garon, aren't you going to put some lights on, old chap?" the Doctor asked.

"The power's off," Garon lied.

"I suppose we'll have to tidy up in the dark then," Romana suggested.

Garon smiled at them both, but it was quickly wiped off his face when some silver some things emerged from the darkness.

"It can't be," the Doctor said, "It can't be."

"What?" Romana asked, "What is it, Doctor?"

"Destroy them," a cold metallic voice echoed.

"Cybermen," the Doctor told her simply.


	22. Chapter Twenty One

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* * *

**

**Doctor** **Who**

**A Museum of Time Lords**

* * *

**Starring:** The Ninth Doctor and Martha Jones  
**Enemies:** The Sontarans  
**Location:** Earth

* * *

**_Chapter Twenty-One_**

_Past Doctor, Future Companion_

"Goodbye. Doctor Jones."

And with those words, the Doctor turned back and walked towards the TARDIS, with his current companion, Donna Noble in tow. As the past companion, Martha Jones watched the two of them return to the TARDIS; she thought that she could see something on Donna's back that shouldn't have been there.

But it didn't matter and her suspicious thought vanished, as the TARDIS soon dematerialised from view. Martha was almost close to regretting her decision to part ways with the Doctor again, but then she looked at her engagement ring and all worries left her mind. She smiled to herself and ran towards her house.

And then suddenly, something stopped Martha. The sound of the TARDIS could be heard again and she wondered if the Doctor had come back for her, to ask her to reconsider her decision. She watched as the blue police box materialised in exactly the same spot that she had been dropped off.

Excited, Martha ran towards the TARDIS, expecting to see the Doctor back again, but someone else came out of it. Instead of the good-looking man, with thick brown hair and a pinstripe suit, which he almost always wore, a different man appeared. This man had cropped brown hair and he was wearing casual clothes, with a leather jacket, which was the most likeable thing about his appearance.

"What's the matter, old girl, eh?" he was saying to himself, as he began to stroke the exterior of the TARDIS, "We've got a Sontaran to catch up with, remember? You can't go breaking down on me now."

Sontaran? Martha, Donna and the Doctor had stopped a Sontaran invasion a while ago. Had several of them survived or something?

"Excuse me!" Martha shouted at the man, still unsure of whether he was the Doctor or not, "Is something wrong?"

Martha knew that she didn't need to run in, all guns blazing. Instead, she was going to take things slow, just to make sure that this man was the Doctor.

"Nothing you need to worry 'bout," the man replied, "Now go back home, to your beans on toast or chips or whatever you eat these days. For all I know, it could be Christmas and beans on toast and chips are off the menu, with a nice warm plump turkey waiting to be eaten instead."

Martha thought this man was slightly eccentric, like the Doctor she knew and she starred, as the man clapped around his body several times, until his hands reached his pockets. After a quick fiddle around, he took out a small accessory from out of one of the pockets. _The sonic screwdriver_, Martha thought, _this is definitely the Doctor, or a Time Lord at least_. But she had to be sure. For all she knew, the Master really had survived and he had a new body. No, that wouldn't be possible, for the Master would've been a lot more callous and he probably would've used a laser screwdriver instead.

"Are you the Doctor?" she asked, carefully, as if hoping that he wouldn't suspect her of anything.

The man's eyes rolled, but he looked at Martha inquisitively. He seemed surprised, but he tried to avoid showing it.

"Depends on whose asking," he answered, pointing his sonic screwdriver at the TARDIS doors, "Who wants to know?"

Martha decided to choose her next words carefully. This man acted like the Doctor or another version of the Doctor at least. It seemed like he didn't know who she was at all, so this was probably a past version of the Doctor.

"Martha Jones," Martha told him, "Let's just say that if you are the Doctor and I mean, you really are, then you'll meet me in your future and I'll travel with you. Well, a different you."

The man's eyes opened widely at these words, but he was suspicious.

"Are you sure?" he asked, "And I mean, really sure? After all, you could be someone who knows all about me, but I know nothing about you."

Martha sighed. This was going to take some convincing, if she was going to get this man to trust her.

"If you are the Doctor, I probably shouldn't tell you anything, because it might be breaking some Law of Time or something," Martha began.

These opening words already caused the Doctor to raise his eyebrows.

"This isn't the first time that a future companion of mine has met my past self," the Doctor told Martha, "And you seem clever enough to tell me about what's coming soon for me and my future."

"I met you in the Royal Hope hospital, where we met the Judoon," Martha continued, "Then you offered me a reward trip on the TARDIS to see William Shakespeare and that one trip turned into many trips. What happens after that is when you become the Doctor I know."

The Doctor stood backwards, with a look of admiration on his face.

"Okay Martha Jones," the man began, "You've proved yourself to me and intrigued me at the same time. I'm the Doctor, in all my glory."

He concluded his speech, by grooming his jumper as if it were a prized possession.

"You mentioned a Sontaran, just now," Martha interrupted, hoping to get to the point, "And what's wrong with the TARDIS?"

The Doctor didn't seem too suspicious about the fact that Martha knew about the TARDIS, but she could tell that he had other things on his mind.

"The TARDIS is malfunctioning," the Doctor told her, "Highly unoriginal, as you're probably aware."

Martha couldn't agree more. The TARDIS was frequent to malfunctioning and her experiences in the blue box suggested that it was often a daily thing.

"Trouble is," the Doctor continued, returning the sonic screwdriver to his pocket, "There isn't just one Sontaran. No, there's forty-five of them exactly and the TARDIS would've taken me directly to their base of operations, but she's struggling a bit today, poor old thing."

Martha would've laughed at this comment, for in her last encounter with the Sontarans, there was an entire invasion fleet of thousands and forty-five of them didn't sound like too much trouble compared to the last time she'd face them.

She managed to hold the temptation to laugh, however as she knew that the Doctor was deadly serious and this Doctor appeared to be more serious than the Doctor that she usually travelled with. Plus, the TARDIS wasn't at her best and it was inappropriate to mock the blue box, even more so, since it was the closest thing to the Doctor's life, aside from his many companions.

"I've seen the Sontarans before, Doctor," Martha told him, "They look like baked potatoes, don't they."

A big grin appeared on the Doctor's face.

"That's a very apt way of describing them," the Doctor told her, "Now, we'd better leave the TARDIS here."

"Are you sure the TARDIS can't make one last trip?" Martha asked.

"No can do, I'm afraid," the Doctor told her, a hint of sadness in his voice, "The TARDIS needs time to recover here, but I've got a pretty good idea of where the Sontarans could be hiding, come on."

And just like her Doctor used to do, he grabbed her hand and immediately set off at a run, dragging Martha along with him.

* * *

"Come here, Sontaran. Let me look upon your disgusting appearance."

The Sontaran approached carefully, but he was infuriated at being mocked.

"Kneel."

The Sontaran kneeled, not daring to avoid his eyes from the figure in front of him.

"Who are you, to give me the right to command?" the Sontaran asked angrily, "I'm the general and I should be giving the commands, not a mere toy solider!"

"I, Sontaran am a person far greater than you," the figure spat, "You will address me as Lord Cothdorte, but just to save using our titles, I will allow you to call me Cothdorte. You may rise."

The Sontaran rose from the floor, not even averting his eyes and he didn't even blink.

"What is your name, Sontaran?" Cothdorte asked.

The Sontaran puffed his chest out, as he began his speech.

"I'm General Kraal, general of the…"

"Spare me the details, Sontaran," Cothdorte commanded; waving his hand in dismissal, "You serve me now."

Kraal was annoyed at these words. He was the general of a Sontaran battle fleet and he wasn't going to serve anyone, no matter who or what they were. He definitely wasn't going to serve a mere toy soldier, like Cothdorte.

"You won't serve me!" Kraal retorted, "I'm the general and I…"

"Help me, Sontaran and I'll make sure that your ongoing war with the Rutans ends," Cothdorte interrupted, "Permanently."

Kraal stopped at this. The Rutans to be defeated and destroyed for good? This sounded too good to be true.

"What must I do?" Kraal asked.

"Serve me, until I release you," Cothdorte told him, "Now your fleet of forty-four…"

"Forty-five actually," Kraal corrected, "You're correct in that there are forty-four Sontarans on Earth, but I'm the general of this particular Sontaran army, which makes me…"

"Save it, Sontaran," Cothdorte interrupted, "Further interruptions will result in the extinction of your species, Sontaran. I have the power to do that, you know. If you assist me, not only will I help you defeat the Rutans, I will share some of my power with you and I will allow you to take over as much of the universe as you want."

Kraal couldn't help, but smile. While his reputation was being threatened by this idiot of a man, at least he'd get it all back, when he'd return with power and be known as the Sontaran who destroyed the Rutans.

"I will serve you, Lord Cothdorte," Kraal told him.

"Oh you will, Sontaran," Cothdorte concluded, "You will."


	23. Chapter Twenty Two

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* * *

**

**Doctor** **Who**

**A Museum of Time Lords**

* * *

**_Chapter Twenty-Two_**

_Search for the Sontarans_

Since their search for the Sontarans had begun, neither the Doctor nor Martha had spoken to each other. They had been too busy, running towards a possible location where the Sontarans were hiding. It was the Doctor who eventually broke the silence, after their running ended and they instead continued with a brisk walk.

"Tell me Martha. You know your Doctor, did he have ginger hair at all?"

"No, why?" Martha told him, interested in the question he had asked.

"Shame," the Doctor replied sadly, "I've always wanted to have ginger hair. Well, in all honesty, I've had ginger hair before in one of my previous lives, but never since. I was hoping to have ginger hair again soon."

There was another brief period of silence. The Doctor stopped and looked around for a quick moment, before looking at the floor.

"See that?" the Doctor asked, pointing at something on the ground.

Martha looked at where the Doctor was pointing. It looked remarkably like a dustbin lid and she couldn't see anything out of the ordinary about it. What was strange about it was that it was in a deserted street.

"Yeah, but what's so special about it?" Martha asked.

"Think about it, will you?" the Doctor told her, almost scolding in the way his tone of voice was, "It's a teleportation device. Stand on that and we'll be taken to the Sontaran base."

"Not very imaginative though, is it?" Martha retorted, "You'd think that something this noticeable would be… well noticeable."

Martha could tell that the Doctor was thinking about this carefully. His eyes turned away from the teleportation system and returned his gaze to her.

"The police, UNIT, Torchwood, they should be on the scene by now," Martha continued.

"Torchwood?" the Doctor asked, now slightly interested in what Martha had just told him.

Martha was surprised. She had found out, through her job that the Doctor had been involved with UNIT in the past, but how could not have heard of Torchwood? Then again, anything was possible with this Doctor and he probably wasn't even aware that such an organisation existed yet.

"Nothing," Martha said quickly, hoping he wouldn't ask her anything about Torchwood, "So, are we going to use this teleportation device, or what?"

"We could," the Doctor agreed, but there was a hint of doubt in his voice and Martha was beginning to suspect the worst.

"But?" Martha asked, dreading the answer.

"But knowing the Sontarans, they've programmed this teleportation device to allow Sontarans and Sontarans only," the Doctor told her.

At this point, Martha would normally ask what the Doctor was going to do next, but she then realised that he had a sonic screwdriver. Martha could remember the many times that the sonic screwdriver had narrowly saved her and the Doctor's life, on their countless adventures.

Predictably, the Doctor immediately whipped out his sonic screwdriver.

"But, thanks to the sonic screwdriver, I can manipulate it into thinking that we're Sontarans," the Doctor told Martha, as he pointed his sonic screwdriver at the teleportation device, "Not a pleasant thought, I'd have to admit."

Soon, the Doctor had finished and he stood back, almost as if to admire his handiwork.

"Well, ladies first," the Doctor pointed out and he gestured his hands to the teleportation device, as if to say, better you than me.

"No thanks," Martha replied, hoping that it wasn't too rude, "As much as I appreciate your manners, I want to see that it works first."

The Doctor looked a bit disheartened, but he didn't back down and he tried to think up something better to say. Knowing the Doctor, it wouldn't take too long for him to come back with a response.

"How about we both use it?" the Doctor soon suggested, "After all, at least two Sontarans use this thing and it'd save a lot of time."

While that last comment didn't exactly satisfy the Doctor's argument in Martha's mind, she was convinced and the Doctor wouldn't want to see his companions harmed in any way.

"Okay then," Martha replied, still a little bit doubtful, "Let's go."

And she and the Doctor linked arms, as they both stood on the teleportation device and she soon felt herself and the Doctor disappear from the deserted street.

* * *

The teleporting process had gone a lot faster than Martha had expected and it took her a while to realise where she was. No longer was she in a street, with a strange teleportation device on the floor. Now she was in what looked like a sewer, with three wide pipes surrounding the dark and damp environment.

"Pretty sight, isn't it?" the Doctor asked.

Martha almost jumped. She had been too busy getting used to the new environment around her that she had completely forgotten about the Doctor.

"These Sontarans sure know how to pick their bases," the Doctor continued, sarcastically, "Makes you wonder what they'll choose next."

"Where are we?" Martha asked.

"Who knows," the Doctor answered, "We could be anywhere, right now. But we're definitely close to the Sontaran base, but for some reason, the TARDIS was trying to avoid this place."

"So what now?" Martha asked, "Find the Sontarans."

"Definitely," the Doctor replied, another massive grin appearing on his face, "But there's three pipes leading to who knows where. It's a shame I didn't bring Rose and Jack with me, in a way, they could've taken the pipe that one of us wouldn't take."

Martha rolled her eyes. The ever-holy Rose must've been a companion to this Doctor as well, but then again, this may have been the first Doctor to have first met Jack. Martha couldn't think about this now, as the Doctor immediately assigned her to a pipe.

"I'll take left and you take right," the Doctor told Martha, without giving her a chance to think, "If we don't find anything, than it's obviously the centre pipe and at least we'll be together, if we find anything."

With no chance to argue her own points across, Martha walked to the pipe on the right, while the Doctor walked to the pipe on the left. Both of them turned to face each other.

"Good luck," the Doctor told her, "And see you in a bit."

He immediately turned around, without waiting for a response. It was as if he was impatient to get off.

"I hope," Martha added, but the Doctor had already left.

Martha turned to the darkness in the pipe and ventured forward, uncertain of what was in there.

The Doctor wandered through the pipe, his hand in front of him, in case he hit anything.

"I really need to eat more carrots, or drink carrot juice, or something with carrots," the Doctor told himself sternly, "I can't see anything in this wretched darkness."

The Doctor continued on, cautious of whatever was in this pipe. So far, his trek hadn't brought any surprises and it was a pretty uneventful journey.

"It's time like this that I should've kept my old umbrella," the Doctor said to himself, as he turned around a corner.

Suddenly a bright light flickered on, almost blinding the Doctor. Covering his face with his arms, he squinted to see a figure in front of him. It was a Sontaran. He approached the Doctor, with a disgusted look on his face.

"Hello there," the Doctor said quickly, holding his hand out to shake the Sontaran's current thick fist, "I'm the Doctor. You may or may not have heard about me."

The Sontaran glanced at him, suspiciously.

"Are you the former prime minister of this backwater planet?" the Sontaran asked.

"Former prime minister?" the Doctor asked, confused, "Didn't he die, by the hands of the Slitheen?"

"No the other one," the Sontaran told the Doctor, "The female."

"Harriet Jones," the Doctor realised, surprised that she had been called a former prime minister, as there was supposed to be a golden age, under her rule, "No, I'm not her. Besides, do I really look female?"

"Then we don't know who you are," the Sontaran responded, "You're under arrest for trespassing. Don't even bother trying to escape."

Several Sontarans surrounded the Doctor.

"I believe I've said this before, but take me to your leader," the Doctor commanded.

"You don't command, the leader does!" the Sontaran snapped, "Besides, our leader isn't here at the moment, but we'll take you to our second command."

"Lead the way then, my alien friend," the Doctor told him.

* * *

Martha had been wading through the darkness for sometime now. It had been quite quiet, wandering through the pipe and nothing had happened, but the Doctor was constantly on her mind and she continued to wonder how he had got on in his pipe. Had he found anything? Had he approached a dead end? Was he already waiting for her, ready to venture into the other pipe?

Suddenly, a bright light flickered on and Martha immediately covered her face with her arms.

"Surrender human," someone commanded, "You're no match for the Sontarans."


	24. Chapter Twenty Three

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* * *

**

**Doctor** **Who**

**A Museum of Time Lords**

* * *

**_Chapter Twenty-Three_**

_An Attempt at Escaping_

As Martha's eyes adjusted to the bright light, she saw the something that had shouted at her. It was a Sontaran.

"Raise your hands!" the Sontaran continued, "Or you'll be shot right on the spot!"

Martha obeyed the Sontaran. She slowly raised her hands and allowed several other Sontarans to hold her tightly and she also allowed them to drag her to the Sontaran who had spoken.

"Is this how you treat all your guests?" Martha asked.

"No," the Sontaran answered, "Just humans from this backwater planet."

Martha sighed.

"I'll take that as a compliment then," she replied sarcastically.

* * *

The Sontarans didn't exactly spend much time leading the Doctor anywhere. The second in command acted exactly the same as the other Sontarans. There was no difference in the second in command to the other Sontarans whatsoever.

"I'd still rather see the leader," the Doctor argued, as he was forced to sit down.

"Our leader is busy elsewhere, as we've already said," one of the Sontarans told the Doctor, "Now, be silent and listen to our second in command."

"Why should I, eh?" the Doctor asked rudely, "I'd rather see someone in authority, not some substitute."

The second in command clenched his fist at these words.

"Touched a nerve, have I?" the Doctor asked, "Why bother with chit-chat, when you can just fight me. Or are you a coward?"

The Doctor grinned at the Sontarans behind him and a silent discussion immediately took place between the Sontarans. It seemed that any mention of a fight excited the Sontarans, but the second in command was still determined to uphold an air of dignity.

"Silence!" he shouted, "I will duel, with the exception that I choose the rules, since you're the challenger that requested this fight."

The Doctor nodded. He didn't want to spend more time talking with the Sontarans.

"Anything you say," the Doctor agreed, "Now I'm impatient to get started. What are the rules?"

"We're allowed to use any weapons that we want to utilize," the second in command began, "And it's a death match. A fight to the death."

Excitement rose between the other Sontarans. They became so excited that they immediately began to stamp their feet, chanting their usual chant, which was incredibly annoying, in the Doctor's opinion.

"Enough talk," the Doctor began, "Let's finish this."

"It'll be my pleasure," the second in command replied, as he raised his own weapon at the Doctor.

The Doctor immediately remembered that he had kept an old cricket ball in his pocket. He quickly took it from his pocket and threw it at the wall. Thankfully, luck was on the Doctor's side and the ball bounced off the wall at an incredible speed, making an impact on the second in command's neck.

Due to the fact that all Sontarans had a vulnerable point on the back of their neck, whenever touched, it would prevent them from doing anything for a few short minutes.

The second in command immediately knelt down to the floor, writhing in pain and missing his chance to shoot the Doctor. The Doctor quickly ran to collect his ball (it had been with him through various incarnations and he didn't want to leave it behind) and ran off, with several Sontarans chasing after him. Now was the chance for the Doctor to escape.

* * *

"Tell me I'm dreaming," Martha told herself quietly, as the Sontarans tied her to a table, "And this does feel familiar."

"Be quiet, human," one of the Sontarans warned.

Martha sighed and relaxed a little bit, despite her current situation. The reason she was being optimistic, was due to the fact that her thoughts were currently on the Doctor and what situation he could be in at the moment. For all she knew, he was doing quite well and talking his way out a possible predicament.

"Prepare the human for our experiment," a Sontaran told the other members of his race.

This wasn't the first time Martha was going to be used as a lab rat. When the Sontarans had invaded Earth last time, they had captured Martha and used her for their last experiment. What they were doing now was beyond her and she wondered what they could possibly be testing for now.

"Come on, Doctor," Martha muttered, hoping the Sontarans wouldn't hear her, "Where are you?"

* * *

The Doctor was running back through the pipe, with several Sontarans still on his tail. The Doctor had no plans of stalling them or getting them away from him, but for now, he had to make sure that he found Martha, so that they were both together.

Luckily, by the time the Doctor had returned to the place where he and Martha had originally arrived at, the Sontarans were far behind him and the Doctor hoped that they'd be stupid enough to take the centre point instead.

* * *

"Prepare the human for experimentation," a Sontaran commanded, "Show no mercy and death is allowed."

This didn't surprise Martha. Sontarans didn't care about death, whether it was their enemies or allies. It didn't matter to them whatsoever.

"Sontarans!" a certain someone shouted, "What's the matter? Don't you remember me at all?"

The Sontarans ignored Martha for a moment to see who had shouted. Martha knew that it was the Doctor, but did the Sontarans know that? After all, as the Doctor had already said, the Sontarans were probably aware of his many different lives.

"Find him and kill him," the Sontaran commanded.

And sure enough, half of the Sontarans that had been around Martha left to find the Doctor. This now left eleven Sontarans with Martha.

Soon, the Doctor was in sight and he had his sonic screwdriver out again. He aimed it at Martha and with its tremendous power; it released Martha from the table.

"Martha, quickly!" the Doctor shouted, "We have to get out of here, now!"

Martha didn't waste any time. She got up and ducked and dodged past the Sontarans, rejoining the Doctor.

"Nice to see you again," Martha told him, when she was by him.

"Didn't I tell you that I'd see you soon?" the Doctor asked, as he dragged Martha along the pipe's tunnel, only to stop when they saw several dark figures in the distance.

"Halt!" a Sontaran shouted, "You're cornered now."


	25. Chapter Twenty Four

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* * *

**

**Doctor** **Who**

**A Museum of Time Lords**

* * *

_**Chapter Twenty-Four**_

_Attempt Number Two_

"Great," the Doctor muttered to Martha, "So much for the perfect getaway."

As the Sontarans closed in on the Doctor and Martha, their fists clenched and their teeth gritting horribly, one Sontaran (who the Doctor whispered to Martha that he was the second in command) called for silence.

"You've reduced our numbers greatly," the second in command told the Doctor and Martha, "Once there were forty-five of us here. As you already know, our leader is away, leaving forty-four. Then, when you…"

The Sontaran pointed angrily at the Doctor, who grinned manically, before replying.

"I didn't know that you or any of the Sontarans were good at Maths," the Doctor replied.

"Escaped," the second in command continued, ignoring the Doctor's attempts at mockery, as much as possible, "Half of the twenty-two Sontarans on the other side of this establishment, perished, when they took the centre pipe route."

"Probably a good thing I didn't take Rose or Jack then," the Doctor whispered to Martha, who both smirked at each other at this comment.

But in Martha's mind, if this were the Sontaran's base, wouldn't they have known that the centre pipe led to death?

"Silence!" the second in command snapped at the Doctor, "Now there are few of us in number. With our leader away and eleven of us losing their lives, there are now only thirty-three of us left."

"That's nice to know," the Doctor replied, "But there's still more of you than us."

"Exactly," the second in command retorted, "Which will allow us all the pleasure in killing you both."

"But thirty-three Sontarans against the two of us is a bit unfair, isn't it?" Martha asked, speaking for the first time, since the Sontarans had surrounded them.

"Sontarans, don't care about fairness!" the second in command declared, "All we care about is war?"

"War against who?" the Doctor asked rather loudly, "The humans on this planet or the Rutans in the greatest reaches of the cosmos? Because if your grudges are still on the Rutans, then you don't need this planet and you don't need to kill innocent people."

The Sontarans looked at each other. Martha had to admit that the Doctor's argument might allow them to leave in one piece, but then again, the Sontarans weren't that merciful.

"Earth would be an ideal planet for a breeding world for cloning," the second in command told the Doctor.

"How original," Martha replied sarcastically, "That's what you tried to do last time and you failed."

The second in command growled at Martha, but managed to keep calm.

"But other than another world under your belt, you don't need this planet, do you?" the Doctor asked and Martha could tell that he was trying to change their minds, "You only need this planet to defeat the Rutans and nothing more. Trust me, you don't need this planet to defeat the Rutans or any other planet. You could easily win this war with skill, if you put your minds to it."

The second in command thought about what the Doctor had said, but it didn't take him long. He wasn't satisfied at all and a malicious smirk appeared on his potato-shaped head.

"We've wasted enough time here already," the second in command stated, "Lock them up and make sure that this time, they can't escape."

The Sontarans grabbed both the Doctor and Martha. Martha would've tried to fight back, but the Doctor had whispered to her not too. Martha obeyed, as she knew that he had yet another plan of some sort.

* * *

"How can you allow this to continue?" Kraal asked angrily, "The Doctor and his companion are making a mockery out of everything the Sontarans stand for!"

Cothdorte lay back in his chair and thought about this for a moment.

"Yes, it all seems a bit lop-sided, with your species' reputation being besmirched," he agreed, "But, it seems your army of forty-five…"

"Forty-four!" Kraal corrected.

"Whatever," Cothdorte replied, ignoring the Sontaran's interruption, "But it seems your army isn't fit for war…"

"How dare you!" Kraal bellowed, "The Sontarans were bred for war, it is our purpose!"

"Silence, Sontaran!" Cothdorte shouted, "As I've already said, further interruptions will make things a lot harder for you. I've excused the last few interruptions, but will not tolerate any more. Now, you want to make sure that the Doctor suffers, as well as I. If you want that to happen, you're going to have to obey me in every way. Do you understand?"

The Sontaran knelt down on his knees.

"I understand, Cothdorte," he replied.

Cothdorte grinned malevolently at this. With his power, he could make anyone follow his rules.

"Good," he told the Sontaran, "Now go back to Earth and make the Doctor suffer!"

"Of course, Lord Cothdorte," the Sontaran replied, before leaving the room.

* * *

"General Kraal?" the second in command asked, "You're coming back?"

"Of course I am how many times do I have to tell you?" Kraal asked back, slightly annoyed, "Anything to report?"

"Nothing, except two prisoners that you'll want to see," the second in command told him, "You might know the one, as he calls himself the Doctor."

There was a moment of silence for a time.

"I am aware of the Doctor," Kraal replied, "He's been an enemy to the Sontaran race many times in the past. Prepare for my return, I'll deal with him and the other prisoner shortly."

"At once, general," the second in command replied and the communications with the general ceased.

* * *

The Doctor and Martha had both been forced into a cell nearby and had no choice, but to try and make themselves comfortable, so they wouldn't bring any unnecessary attention. This was very hard to do indeed, as there was hardly any space to do anything except sit down, as they couldn't even stand up.

After several minutes, the second in command approached their cell and the Doctor and Martha wondered what he was going to say or do.

"Our leader will be returning shortly," he told them both, "He wants to see you both, but mainly you."

He pointed at the Doctor.

"I don't know whether to look forward to this or not," the Doctor told the second in command, "How long will he be, before he gets back?"

"Any second now," the second in command told him.

Sure enough, another Sontaran walked forward.

"Are these the prisoners?" he asked.

"Yes, general," the second in command answered, "May I be dismissed?"

The general Sontaran nodded and the other Sontaran walked off.

"Doctor, I've been looking forward to seeing you," the general Sontaran began, "I'm General Kraal, general of the Sontaran battle fleet and the loyalist servant of Lord Cothdorte."


	26. Chapter Twenty Five

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* * *

**

**Doctor** **Who**

**A Museum of Time Lords**

* * *

_**Chapter Twenty-Five**_

_Negotiations_

Martha noticed the Doctor's facial expression changing from an inane grin at meeting the leader of the Sontaran battle fleet to an expression of dread. She also looked at the Sontaran, who was now beginning to grin.

"Do you fear the Sontarans, Doctor?" Kraal asked, in a sort of mocking manner.

"No," the Doctor replied coldly, "The Sontarans don't scare me and never have. No, it's the person or people or company you serve. That's what frightens me more than anything. Cothdorte. Who is Cothdorte?"

"None of your business!" the Sontaran shouted, "And I'm asking the questions here, not the other way around!"

"But where have I heard that before?" the Doctor asked, ignoring the Sontaran.

"Silence!" Kraal shouted, "I order you to remain silent, unless I allow you to talk!"

The Doctor decided to stay quiet and Martha knew that she should do the same.

"Now, what are you doing here?" the Sontaran asked.

"Trying to stop war-obsessed fools like yourself and your species from taking over this planet and whatever else you want to get your grubby little hands on," the Doctor answered, "Next question please."

"No, Doctor!" Kraal ordered, "Let the female speak as well."

Martha thought about what she was going to say. She needed to say the right thing, if she and the Doctor were going to get out of this alive.

"I'll repeat the question for the half-breed," Kraal continued, "What are you doing here?"

"It's going to be a waste of time telling you, as it'll be the same answer as the Doctor's," Martha told him.

The Doctor grinned his usual grin, whilst Kraal looked on Martha with disgust. He looked enraged, tempted to strike either of the two down, but it seemed that he couldn't.

"A Sontaran who can't attack us?" the Doctor asked, "Isn't it embarrassing?"

"Shut up!" Kraal snapped, "If I wasn't under strict orders, you'd have been executed on the spot!"

"Are these strict orders from Cothdorte?" the Doctor asked, "Because whoever he, she, it or whoever is, I can make sure that you succeed without their help."

"Your deal is worthless!" Kraal spat, "Cothdorte has promised me so much more than what you've offered! I shall return when you decide to talk."

Kraal turned around and left, walking away. Martha could see the Doctor didn't want to finish the conversation and he shouted after the Sontaran general.

"Whatever Cothdorte has promised you, you won't get anything from it!" Martha heard him shout, "Believe me, Cothdorte will betray you and make you look like a bigger fool than ever."

The Doctor sighed, as Martha wondered how she could help out. They were both stuck in a cell, with no chance of escape and the Sontarans had managed to defeat them both.

"Who is Cothdorte?" Martha asked.

"I don't know," the Doctor told her, "But it's a name that's been bothering me for some time, ever since…"

The Doctor paused.

"Ever since what?" Martha pried.

"Doesn't matter," the Doctor replied, "Anyway, whoever Cothdorte is, he, she, it or whoever sounds very dangerous and an unpleasant character. I wouldn't mind meeting this Cothdorte though, at some point, if just to get rid of the mystery that's surrounded that name for so long."

"Doctor, I don't mean to keep asking questions all the time," Martha began, "But do you have an idea of how to get out of here?"

The Doctor looked at her.

"What do you think I've been thinking about, besides this Cothdorte?" the Doctor asked, as if he had been offended, "I've got one idea."

"And?" Martha asked once more, on the sound of sounding stupid.

"A negotiation," the Doctor told her, "And hopefully one that won't fail."

The Doctor reached into his pocket and the sonic screwdriver made another appearance. Martha looked shocked to say the least.

"Do all aliens forget to take our equipment away from us?" Martha asked, as the Doctor opened the cell door.

"Quite possibly," the Doctor told her, "They seem so intent on getting people like us locked up, but forget to confiscate anything. Now, let's see our Sontaran friend, shall we?"

* * *

Kraal needed to get back in contact with Cothdorte, as he seemed to be the only person who knew more about the Doctor than either he or the rest of the Sontarans knew. Ashamed to admit it, he needed his help.

Luckily for the Sontarans, there was a communications console in their base and it saved Kraal from travelling all across two universes back to the _Iron Fist_.

The moment that Kraal had sent a call to Cothdorte, he had returned it quicker than he had expected and he appeared on the screen that filled the room.

"Ah, Sontaran, what do you want?" Cothdorte asked.

"The Doctor refuses to talk," Kraal told him, "He just seems set about wasting my time."

"Yes, well the Doctor is very good at wasting people's time and acting immaturely," Cothdorte retorted, "And if you want him to talk, find his weakness."

"His weakness?" Kraal asked.

"Something close to him," Cothdorte informed, "A close friend perhaps."

"I wouldn't suggest that if I were you!" a voice called.

Kraal was shocked to see the Doctor and his human associate with him. How did they manage to escape the cell?

"Are you Cothdorte?" the Doctor asked.

"I am," Cothdorte replied simply, "And you are the Doctor."

"I am," the Doctor copied, "But who are you, who are you really?"

Cothdorte began to laugh.

"If I told you that, the surprise would be too much to bear, I think," Cothdorte answered, "Sontaran, kill him and his companion."

"Run!" the Doctor shouted.

He grabbed his friend's hand and ran away from the bullets that were being shot from the Sontaran's weapon. The other Sontarans tried to help out, but their aim was without a doubt, poor.

* * *

After several minutes, the Doctor and Martha managed to find the teleportation device that could take them out of the base. With the aid of the sonic screwdriver once more, the Doctor activated it and it sent him and Martha back to where they had originally came from.

In case the Sontarans were determined to leave their stronghold, the Doctor used his sonic screwdriver again to disable it for an hour or so.

"Martha, I need to find this Cothdorte, see what he's all about, can you find some assistance to stop the Sontarans?" the Doctor asked very quickly.

"Yeah, I work for UNIT nowadays," Martha told him, "In the future, you helped me get the job."

The Doctor grinned. It seemed that in his personal future, he was going to make a success out of this girl, a success that his future self had already accomplished.

"Oh. Martha Jones, it's been fun," the Doctor told her, "And if you really are my future companion, then I've got a lot to look forward to. Go on, get back to UNIT and make sure they can stop the Sontarans."

Martha didn't say anything, but she ran off, presumably in the direction of where the current UNIT base was. She seemed more than capable, along with UNIT to prevent the Sontarans from attempting any more invasions on Earth.

"I've meanwhile, got to find Cothdorte, somehow and someway," the Doctor told himself.


	27. Chapter Twenty Six

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* * *

**

**Doctor** **Who**

**A Museum of Time Lords**

**

* * *

**

**Starring:** The Second, Fourth, Seventh, Ninth and Tenth Doctors with Jamie McCrimmon, Zoë Heriot, Romana II, Ace and Lana Corall  
**Enemies:** Cothdorte, Mr Ohm and SOL-3  
**Location:** The Iron Fist

* * *

**_Chapter Twenty-Six_**

_The Mystery Continues_

Cothdorte knew that the Doctor had found him out and not just any Doctor, but one of his previous lives, no doubt.

His time hidden in the shadows from within his own universe was running out and now was the time to capture the other Doctors (and their companions) from their time periods.

The penultimate phase of his plan was being brought forward and it seemed not a moment too soon.

"Time to activate the time scoop," Cothdorte told himself.

He stood up from his seat and walked over to a control pad, by the window, overlooking his universe. Pressing a big red button four times, four time scoops appeared and Cothdorte programmed them to track the four Doctors down and bring them to him.

* * *

With no time to waste, the Doctor ran back to the TARDIS and opened its double doors. Immediately running over to the centre console, he plotted some random coordinates for the next destination, hoping that the time and space machine would manage to find Cothdorte, as he had no idea where he was.

Unfortunately, the TARDIS was still refusing to work and it was times like this that the Doctor was desperate for it to work.

Banging his fists on the centre console, like he used to do in a previous incarnation from long ago, in a slight fury, the Doctor stormed off and left the TARDIS, deciding to give her a quick break before a second (or did it count as a third?) attempt to work.

Outside the TARDIS, the Doctor couldn't see Martha or UNIT anywhere, arriving on the scene of alien activity. Still, they had plenty of time to arrive, as he had trapped the Sontarans inside their own base so they had no chance to escape.

Using this perfect opportunity to take a break as well as his TARDIS, the Doctor looked around him, admiring the location, with its bright blue sky with fluffy little white clouds and a golden sun glowing in the air.

Unexpectedly, the Doctor noticed something strange hanging in the sky, in the distance. It was a triangular shape, rotating clockwise at a moderate speed. As it started to move forwards, he knew immediately what it was. A time scoop, which was a piece of Gallifreyan technology.

Aware that he had nowhere to run or hide, as the time scoop wouldn't rest until it had captured its target, the Doctor awaited his fate and allowed the time scoop to well, scoop him up. Perhaps it would take him to the heart of the evil operation, as it had done before in previous lives.

* * *

The Doctor felt a bit shaky, the moment the time scoop released him from its clutches. It took him several seconds to realise that he was in a corridor and that he wasn't alone. He was being watched by an android of some sorts.

"What are you doing here?" the android asked grumpily, if that was at all possible (as androids didn't normally have emotions).

"Sorry, I had an appointment with Cothdorte," the Doctor lied, hoping he had ended up at the right place, "Do you know where I can find him?"

The android froze for a minute muttering, "scanning" before replying.

"Lord Cothdorte has plenty of appointments to deal with today," the android told him, "It's possible you could be on the list. What is your name and job title?"

At least one good thing had come out of this. The Doctor was in the right place and Cothdorte wasn't too far away. The only thing now was to make sure that he didn't mess up and convince the android that he did have an appointment with Cothdorte. But what could he say

Name and job title? Name was easy enough, it was the Doctor, but would Cothdorte's list have his name down as the Doctor? And the Doctor didn't really have a profession, so what could he say?

"John Smith, a doctor of everything," the Doctor lied once more.

"I'm afraid there's no John Smith on the appointment list," the android informed him sharply, "Nor were there any doctors."

The Doctor gritted his teeth. It seemed that pseudonyms hadn't worked in this instance and it had annoyed him that he hadn't been down on the list. Maybe Cothdorte didn't want to see him after all.

"I believe you must have made a mistake, sir," the android added, "Now if you don't mind, I'd like you to get out of my way."

"What's the magic word?" the Doctor asked back.

"Please," the android answer back.

A sound behind them both clicked and the Doctor turned to see a door opening. Before he had a chance to react, the android suddenly grabbed him and pushed him up the corridor and around a corner, hiding in the darkness. Perhaps the android had done a good thing pushing him in there, as two men and a woman had begun to walk through the now deserted corridor.

"Come along, Doctor," the one man warned, "Your new accommodation awaits you."

The Doctor felt as if one of his two hearts had suddenly stopped dead. One of his selves was here and it was one of his few future selves, by what he had heard. Oh, why did more than one of him have to be involved? And why couldn't he have had a better look at the group?

As the group continuing to walk forward, the Doctor began to follow them.

"What do you think you're doing?" the android asked angrily.

Ignoring him, the Doctor continued on, following the group as quickly and quietly as he could, making sure that none of them spotted him.

* * *

Apart from being told by Mr Ohm, the Doctor didn't much like the sound of a better place to stay in. Looking at Lana, she appeared to have the same thought. What was the need of giving the two of them better accommodation, when compared to the other prisoners they had the best?

Deciding to wait until Ohm had finished leading them through endless passageways, the Doctor was going to ask questions the moment he and Lana arrived at their new resting place.

It didn't take long either, as a long door opened and Ohm led both the Doctor and Lana into a large room. It certainly was an upgrade from their previous cell. This time, the room was rather luxurious, with its blue interior, surrounded by various alien artefacts (some of which the Doctor recognised from his past, including a Cyberman helmet and Judoon armour), but to top it all off, a wonderful view could be seen from a huge window.

"Stunning, isn't it?" Ohm asked, as he too appeared to be glowing in the marvel of this room.

"Where are we?" Lana asked.

Now Lana was good. That was the first question that the Doctor was going to ask too. Oh well, it was better hearing someone else asking questions for a change.

"This is a museum," Ohm answered, "A museum of all things, alien."

"Why let us stay here?" the Doctor interrupted, "We could easily wreck a brilliant room and I mean brilliant, by vandalising it or trying to plot an escape route."

"Oh I suggest against going through with whatever you have planned," Ohm retorted, "Vandalism will reduce in you both being executed and escaping is impossible as there will be guards outside each and every exit."

Ohm walked away from the two of them and a door opened. He hadn't been lying about the security, as two guards, Judoon guards no doubt, stood outside, ready and waiting for any trouble to arise.

"Goodbye," Ohm called, as the door was closed and locked after him.

There was silence for a time. The moment that Ohm had left, the Doctor had walked over to the window and was amazed at the sight he could see. Apart from one thing. Gallifrey.

"What? What? What!" the Doctor asked himself loudly, before telling himself quietly, "Oh I wished I stopped saying that, it gets so annoying."

"What is it?" Lana asked.

"It's my home world," the Doctor told her, "The home I thought that was destroyed. Gallifrey."


	28. Chapter Twenty Seven

* * *

**Doctor** **Who**

**A Museum of Time Lords**

* * *

**_Chapter Twenty-Seven_**

_Doctor Two_

"Gallifrey?" Lana asked, "If it was destroyed, how can it be here now?"

Lana could tell that the situation was serious and the Doctor looked extremely grave. He seemed resilient to giving her an answer, as he stared at the planet, with tear filled eyes (at least that's what she thought).

"It must be a trick," the Doctor said suddenly, "It can't be Gallifrey."

Lana decided not to ask any further questions for the moment.

She had thought that the Doctor would've been happy to see his home world once more, but he seemed more confused than anything, as he stood silent, looking upon the planet, muttering various things, considering all the possibilities as to how his home world was there.

Still, if Lana ever saw her home world again, she would've far from happy or confused. After all the bad things that had happened there, she couldn't care less if she never saw it again. The truth was, however was that she had. She had been there, fighting against the Malavice invaders, for sometime, before getting captured and meeting the Doctor. Her home world was Maytarr.

The reason Lana had hated Maytarr was because it had been a wreck, ever since her mid-twenties, with technology refusing to work and a corrupt government joining it. To escape the sadism of her world, she had left the moment she had turned thirty and had not looked back since, despite wishing many times to see her family and friends once more.

A decade later, at the more mature age of forty, she had returned to fight against the Malavice invaders, but during her time on the planet, she hadn't seen anybody she used to know. If they weren't in hiding, they'd have probably been killed and they probably thought the same of her, when she had left, not even trying to get in contact with them.

It didn't matter now though. She couldn't change the past, no matter how much she wanted to do so.

"I don't know what to think anymore," the Doctor said, interrupting Lana's thoughts, "I can't think of any possible explanation for this and I've been thinking for the past few minutes."

The Doctor walked over to relax in one of the many seats that were in the centre of the room. Lana joined him, in the seat next to him. She had to admit, these were certainly comfortable and even though they weren't beds, they'd be more comfortable to sleep on than a cold hard floor, which she'd been sleeping on for a while now.

* * *

The Doctor was considering his options. After loads of hallways, he had just about given up hope on them actually stopping off anywhere. Thankfully, they did end up in one corridor with a large metal door. He had considered following them in, but there was a chance he'd be heard entering and he wouldn't be a free man for a while. It was a good thing he didn't attempt to get in, as two Judoon guards appeared in front of the door. Now, he had to come up with a plan to get in that room.

He could've used his psychic paper, to trick the Judoon into thinking he was an important business figure or something, but the Judoon weren't stupid and they might've easily seen through his attempt at smuggling himself in. Then was trying to cause a distraction, but that could always backfire.

_If only I were the invisible man, like Claude Rains_, the Doctor thought cheekily.

There was only one thing for it then. The Doctor was going to have to do things the good old-fashioned way, without the use of useful gadgets like the sonic screwdriver or psychic paper. Finding an alternative way into that room. He just hoped that time was on his side and nobody in there left. Turning around, he ran as quickly as he could to find another way in.

* * *

"When I was younger," Lana began, remembering something from her childhood, "My mother used to tell me a story of a war that ravaged across time and space. She called it, the Time War and…"

Lana was about to continue with her story, but the Doctor stopped her from speaking anymore. At first, it was because he may have heard something, but it wasn't that. He was fixated upon her.

"How could anyone possibly know about the Time War?" he asked, "The only people who know about the Time War are myself, the Daleks, several other alien races that are eager for war, like the Sontarans and the people closest to me."

"It was just a story," Lana added, feeling a little guilty for reminding the Doctor of his troubled past.

"I suppose," the Doctor told her, "But the question still remains and I'm going to ask you more about it at some point."

"My mother didn't know much about it," Lana added quickly, "All she knew about was the war and what the outcome was. She didn't know anything about you or Daleks or anything."

"There's no need to explain yourself for now," the Doctor told her sternly, "Anyway, did you hear something?"

Lana had a gut instinct that the Doctor had heard something, besides her brief back-story.

"I think I did," Lana told him, "But what is it?"

"Whatever it is doesn't sound good," the Doctor informed her, "If only I had my sonic screwdriver on me, I could perhaps track for some unwanted presence onboard."

"Here," a voice said.

Before the Doctor's eyes, he saw a sonic screwdriver… no his sonic screwdriver in his hands.

"Thanks," the Doctor muttered, "Now let's see if I can find out what's going on around here."

As the Doctor began to play with his little gadget, Lana noticed a figure behind him. A man.

"Doctor?" Lana pointed out.

"What?" the Doctor asked, "Lana, I'm a little busy right now."

He swivelled around to see the man that Lana had pointed to and despite not taking any interest in him; he suddenly stared at the man.

"What?" the Doctor asked.

"What?" the man asked.

The Doctor and the man approached each other and looked at each other with a disgusted look on each of their faces.

"What!" they both said together, annoyed.

Lana was about to ask the Doctor who the man was, but they were talking to each other again.

"Oh no," the man began, "Why did I have to become a pretty boy?"

The Doctor took this as a compliment, before realising what the man had actually meant.

"What?" the Doctor asked again, "Don't you like how I look?"

"No!" the man retorted, "I was hoping to be ginger or at least, anything but a pretty boy. I can't afford a group of fan girls running around after me, whilst I'm trying to save countless lives, stop billions of villains and more."

"Well I'm sorry, but this is what you end up like!" the Doctor shouted back, "You were the one who went all noble and decided to sacrifice yourself at the last minute, even though it was the right thing to do! Don't blame me for what I look like!"

Lana was seriously confused at the moment. The Doctor and this man seemed to know each other fairly well and not for all the right reasons it seemed. They didn't seem to get on at all.

"Excuse me if I don't just interrupt your little conversation," Lana added, "But what are you both talking about?"

"Yes, explain to your friend here what we're on about," the man told the Doctor, as if he was thick.

The Doctor sighed and he seemed to be thinking the best possible way to explain it all in a simple way.

"Lana Corall," the Doctor began, "I'd like you to meet me."


	29. Chapter Twenty Eight

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* * *

**

**Doctor** **Who**

**A Museum of Time Lords**

* * *

_**Chapter Twenty-Eight**_

_Gallifreyan Reunion_

Lana was trying to fit her head around all of this. How could the Doctor be more than one man? The concept was impossible to comprehend, let alone believe it.

"You?" Lana asked, "How can he be you? You and he are completely different."

"It's a little difficult to explain," the Doctor told her feebly.

"You see," the man interrupted gruffly, "He used to be me and I'll eventually become him, unfortunately."

The Doctor ignored the offensive bit of the man's comment and trying to carry on with his version of the explanation.

"I may have already told you this and if I have, I apologise for repeating myself," the Doctor began, "Anyway, I'm a Time Lord and Time Lords have a thing known as regeneration and when a body gets old or dies, a Time Lord such as myself, regenerates, becoming a new man, whilst still being the same person as before."

The Doctor was rather breathless at this stage and Lana took the time to figure out all this information out.

"So you and he are Time Lords and are the same man?" Lana asked, hoping she had understood everything correctly, "You're just different versions of the same man?"

"Correctamundo!" the Doctor shouted, "No, no, no, no, no, I kept telling myself that I didn't want to say that anymore."

The "other" Doctor looked disgusted at "the" Doctor.

"And I don't want to say it either," the "other" Doctor added, "At least, not whilst I'm in this incarnation. I'm the ninth incarnation by the way and he's the tenth I believe."

"Oh yes!" the Doctor said cheerfully, "And you've got plenty to look forward to."

"I find that hard to believe," the Ninth Doctor grumbled.

"Look, would you just stop trying to insult me and at least try and get on with me?" the Doctor asked, "I know we're the same person, but why does that have to keep reducing us to petty fights amongst ourselves? Do you want to ask anything else, Lana?"

Lana had plenty of questions to ask, but there was one thing bothering her at the moment.

"There's ten of you?" she asked.

"Yes, I'll explain about that later," the Doctor told her, as if trying to ignore the subject.

The two Doctors were about to argue some more, when Lana noticed a little man walking into the room, armed with an umbrella. Nodding towards him, the two other Doctors finally noticed what she was trying to suggest.

"It's me again," the two Doctors said together.

Lana sighed.

"Let me guess, you're the Eighth Doctor?" Lana asked the little man.

"Seventh," he corrected, before hooking his umbrella to his trousers and taking a quick look at both of the other Doctors, "And you're my succeeding selves, I believe."

"Oh yes!" the Tenth Doctor told him, "What do you think?"

The Tenth Doctor tried to show himself off in his pinstripe suit, whilst the Ninth Doctor reluctantly joined in, showing off his leather-clad look. At this sudden showing off, the Seventh Doctor looked as if he didn't know what to think, but he looked at his future selves with great interest.

"I'll make my mind on you both later," the Seventh Doctor told them, "Now, we need to find out why we're here and why someone had the nerve to break the First Law of Time."

Lana was wondering what the First Law of Time was, but she didn't dare ask the Doctor or any of the other ones what it was. Once all these other Doctors left, she had plenty of time to ask "her" Doctor what it was.

"There's also the question as to why none of our companions are here, besides her," the Seventh Doctor continued, pointing at Lana.

Lana was slightly taken aback and it seemed that this Doctor didn't approve of her appearance. Deciding to keep her mouth shut, she didn't lose her temper and listened to what else this Doctor had to say.

"And will any of our other selves be joining us?" the Seventh Doctor asked.

The Seventh Doctor's question was answered sooner rather than later. Lana and the other two Doctors pointed towards a rather strange man, with a bohemian look entering the room.

"Oh no," all three Doctors said together.

"Oh no," the stranger replied, a look of disgust on his face, "It just had to happen, didn't it?"

"My fourth self," the Tenth Doctor whispered to Lana, "He rather loves himself a bit, believes himself to be the definitive Doctor and probably thinks of us as impostors."

"I heard that," the Fourth Doctor snapped, "And yes, I do believe that I'm the best incarnation, especially compared to the midget over there."

He pointed dramatically at the Seventh Doctor, who looked offended at this. Lana couldn't help but think he deserved it, after he'd brushed her off earlier.

Lana couldn't help, but notice that it looked as if the other Doctors, particularly the Seventh, were trying to tell the Fourth Doctor off for calling himself the greatest of the Doctors. Before they could say anything, however, the Fourth Doctor reached into his pocket and pulled out a small paper bag.

"Jelly baby?" he asked.

"Don't mind if I do," the Ninth Doctor answered, immediately taking one.

The Seventh and Tenth Doctors, after some consideration also joined their other selves in having some jelly babies. Lana supposed that she could have some too, so she also joined in. Soon, they were all munching on jelly babies, to their heart's content.

"I forgot how much I enjoyed these," the Tenth Doctor told everyone.

"Yes, I'll have to get a bag at some point, once…" the Seventh Doctor added.

The Seventh Doctor was interrupted, however by a large bubble with another little man appeared in the middle of the room, where they'd all been sitting, since eating their jelly babies. Lana knew what to expect, but asked it anyway.

"Let me guess, another Doctor?" Lana asked.

"You're good," the Fourth Doctor told her, as he continued to chew on a jelly baby, "Of course that is me. The sequel to the very first me, you might say."

He gave a big cheesy grin, whilst the second little man, supposedly the Second Doctor looked up at everyone. He looked rather embarrassed and he fidgeted around in his bubble, trying to break free.

"Oh my giddy aunt, no!" he shouted, "I'm stuck in the time scoop, or bubble or whatever it is? Oh if the grumpy grandfather or the dandy disaster saw me now."

"It's okay, they're not here," the Seventh Doctor told his previous self calmly.

"But we are," the Fourth Doctor added.

At this, the other Doctors laughed and Lana couldn't help, but join in. The Second Doctor looked uncomfortable at being mocked and he looked annoyed.

"You wouldn't be laughing if I wasn't in this bubble," he said rather quickly, "Now, would someone please get me out of this!"

The Tenth Doctor had forgotten he had his previous self's sonic screwdriver and he handed it over to the Ninth Doctor. Sighing, he reluctantly flicked a switch on the sonic screwdriver and it went into action. The bubble began to dissolve and it disappeared in a few seconds. The Second Doctor was relieved to be finally out of the bubble.

"Thank you very much," the Second Doctor told the Ninth Doctor, as he stroked his jacket down, as if it was dusty, "Now, what are we doing here?"

"I've already asked that question," the Seventh Doctor told him.

"It was only a rhetorical question mind," the Tenth Doctor reminded.

The Seventh Doctor ignored this comment and looked at his other selves.

"We should go into contact," he suggested, "A telepathic conference, if you will and it'll be a lot quicker than talking to each other."

"Agreed," the other Doctors said.

"What am I supposed to do in the meantime?" Lana asked.

With five Doctors in the room, Lana had the right to feel a bit left out, whilst they had a "conference" amongst themselves.

"It'll be over in a minute," the Tenth Doctor assured her, "Now, contact."

"Contact," the Ninth Doctor continued.

"Contact," the Seventh Doctor added.

"Contact," the Fourth Doctor added.

"Contact," the Second Doctor finished.


	30. Chapter Twenty Nine

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* * *

**

**Doctor** **Who**

**A Museum of Time Lords**

* * *

_**Chapter Twenty-Nine**_

_Contact_

The Tenth Doctor stood alone, for the first time in weeks. His latest companion, Donna Noble had been forced to leave him, after a biological meta-crisis caused her to have a human/Time Lord mind, which if she had kept any longer, the consequences would've been dire.

The Doctor had no other choice, but to wipe Donna's memory of all her adventures with him and even their first meeting, to protect her from burning up.

Since then, he had been all on his own, travelling in time and space to various places in the universe. He was willing to go anywhere, as long as it wasn't Earth, as he had too many memories there and he needed a break from his favourite planet after all that had happened recently. He'd probably go back there one day, but for now, he had cut all his ties to the planet and avoid it for a while.

But where to next? The problem with not going to Earth reduced a lot of possible ideas on where to go. The Doctor had always enjoyed going there, because of its vast history and its ever changed times. These days, it was a lot harder to choose anywhere to go.

The Doctor was about to make his mind up on where to go, but suddenly, the TARDIS shook violently, causing him to fall to the floor. Struggling to stand up, he slid across the floor to the centre console and tried to stabilise the time and space machine, but he couldn't. Nothing was refusing to work.

* * *

The Ninth Doctor felt rather odd. Ever since the time scoop had captured him, he felt trapped and a little bit claustrophobic. He couldn't move or say anything. Still, at least he had a better chance of finding Cothdorte with the time scoop, which wouldn't have been as easy using the TARDIS.

* * *

The Seventh Doctor had been forced to listen the long and tedious argument that had taken place between the two Masters for some time now. The funny thing was that the Doctor thought the arguments with his own selves were bad enough, but the Master's arguments, which each other were just as bad.

"Is it possible that you're going to finish off with your antagonistic banter soon?" the Doctor asked impatiently.

"I suggest you keep quiet, if you want your friend to survive," the corpse Master threatened.

"Shut up, you slimy git!" Ace shouted.

The Doctor sighed, as he had had enough and Ace was getting impatient and her sharp tongue would probably end up getting her killed, if she wasn't too careful. It was time to end this charade and he was going to, until he noticed a sight right next to the corpse Master. It was a time scoop.

Turning around, the Doctor ran towards his TARDIS.

"That's right, Doctor, run!" the other Master taunted.

The Doctor ignored him. Whether or not the time scoop caught him, he needed to get into the TARDIS and rescue Ace now. The risk was well worth it.

As the TARDIS got ever closer, the Doctor could see the time scoop catching up with him and just as he was about to put the key in the double doors of the time and space machine, he was ensnared by the time scoop.

* * *

The Fourth Doctor was sickened at the sight of the Cybermen. What sickened him even more was that Garon was smirking away behind him and probably twiddling his fingers like a pantomime villain.

"Garon!" the Doctor shouted, "I always knew you were no good!"

"Well isn't that nice to know," Garon replied evilly, "They're all yours, Cybermen."

The Cybermen advanced towards both the Doctor and Romana.

"Looks like it's the end, Doctor," Romana whispered.

The Doctor was going to come up with a witty reply, but he didn't want to spend his last few minutes thinking up something humorous to say.

"We'll go down together," Romana continued.

"Together," the Doctor agreed.

The two of them held hands and it was the first time either of them had did it. Was it love or were they just caught up in the moment? Either way, the Doctor wasn't sure, as an odd feeling took over his body.

* * *

The Second Doctor looked to see two creatures, approaching them. Jamie and Zoë also looked to see who the two creatures were and they looked hungry for the kill or a kill, at least.

"Doctor, what are we going to do?" Zoë asked.

"I'm unsure for the moment," the Doctor answered.

He felt rather useless, in a cell.

"Doctor!" Jamie pressured.

"I… I…" the Doctor responded, speechless.

And before the Doctor could think of any way of escaping, he felt something odd taking him away from the disaster scenario.

* * *

All the Doctors had stood in silence, with their eyes shut tight and their faces with various (and sometimes silly looking) expressions on. At the moment, Lana felt left out. Their "contact" thing would be between them and them only and they'd all have a general idea what was going on and she'd still be clueless.

So much for contact being a minute long. It seemed to have gone on much longer than "her" Doctor had told her it would.

"So we all now know how each of us got here," the Seventh Doctor concluded.

Lana jumped. She was completely unaware that contact between them was finally over. The other Doctors nodded in agreement.

"And how Lana Corall fits into it all," the Seventh Doctor added.

Lana gulped. What had she done, besides being captured by the Malavice and got herself involved with the Doctor, or in this case five Doctors?

"We can't help our companions, no matter how hard we try," the Seventh Doctor continued, "We just have to concentrate on the here and now, before we worry about them, as harsh as that sounds."

"So what happens now?" Lana asked, at this point feeling rather stupid.

"We'll probably sit around and wait for this Cothdorte to come out of hiding and see us all," the Ninth Doctor told her.

"Plus, my fourth self and I can argue over, which of us has the better jelly babies…" the Second Doctor announced, trying to lighten up the situation.

"That'll be me, obviously," the Fourth Doctor interrupted.

"Or I can play us all something on my recorder," the Second Doctor suggested, "How about, _I Am The Walrus_? I can almost play it now."

"No, no, no, no, please don't do that," the Tenth Doctor said rather quickly.

"Why not?" the Second Doctor asked annoyed.

"One, you, I mean I or us, whatever never managed to play the recorder," the Tenth Doctor told him, "And you never ever managed to play _I Am The Walrus_ either."

The other Doctors nodded in agreement. The Second Doctor looked horrified, but didn't back down.

"I'm still going to see if I can prove you all wrong," he replied angrily.

And to the embarrassment of the other Doctors, he began playing. The torment was going to last for some time.


	31. Chapter Thirty

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* * *

**

**Doctor ****Who**

**A Museum of Time Lords**

* * *

_**Chapter Thirty**_

_Whatever Happened to the Companions?_

Jamie felt different. He must've been lying down for some time and had probably been asleep. The funny thing was that he'd had a dream about his home in Scotland, before waking up.

Sitting up, before standing up, he noticed Zoë beside him and she was asleep. So that explained it all. She and Jamie had been asleep for quite a while and they had been sleeping in an environment, much different from the normal surroundings of the TARDIS.

"Zoë, wake up now," Jamie murmured.

Zoë's eyes slowly opened and the moment she saw Jamie, she suddenly sat up in shock.

"Jamie, the Doctor!" she said sharply, "Where is he?"

"I'm not sure," Jamie told her, "But wherever he is, I'm sure that he'll be back for us soon."

"Oh I don't know, Jamie," Zoë snapped, "Don't you remember what happened to the Doctor?"

Jamie was uncertain of what had happened to the Doctor, the last time he and Zoë had been with him.

"No," Jamie answered.

"He disappeared, didn't he?" Zoë told him, "And then as those two aliens approached us, a blinding white light appeared. I don't remember anything else after that and the first thing I knew was that you and I woke up here."

"Well, I wonder we are now, eh," Jamie added.

The environment looked a lot like home, Jamie's in particular. There were steep green hills in the area, a blue sky and a heavy mist, just like Scotland.

"Don't worry, Zoë," Jamie told her, "The Doctor will find us."

* * *

Romana knew immediately where she was. It was Gallifrey, her and the Doctor's home planet. Well, it wasn't exactly Gallifrey, but more the Death Zone, an abandoned section of the planet's surface. The Death Zone was an ancient battleground that the Time Lords used to use for entertainment, by manipulating "lesser" species into fighting each other to the death.

The thought of such a place disturbed Romana and she didn't like being here one bit. Still, she couldn't stay here, out it the open with possible threats in the Death Zone. She had to find shelter or at least somewhere where it wasn't as risky as staying out in the open.

In the distance, Romana noticed a tall tower, one that was called the Tomb of Rassilon and even though it had been said that it was filled with many threats, it was better being inside than outside. Whether she was wrong about this or not, she wasn't going to change her mind, as she began to start a possibly long walk through the deserted area.

The only thought that was in Romana's mind at the moment was how she got here, escaping the Cybermen and whether the bright white light had anything to do with it.

* * *

Ace had been wondering around what she had called a stupid place for a while now. She had no idea where she was, where the Doctor was and how she had got here in the first place. After all, she thought that she'd be kept as the Master's prisoner for a long time, but somehow, she had arrived here, after a bright white light had blinded her vision for several seconds.

"Doctor, where are you?" Ace asked loudly.

Something distracted Ace, however as she heard a noise from the bushes and it didn't sound good.

* * *

Martha, as well as dozens of normal civilians watched, as UNIT surrounded the area, where the Sontaran base was located. Two of the Sontarans appeared in the teleportation device and people screamed, retreated for their homes.

"Open fire men," a soldier from UNIT bellowed.

The guns began to fire upon the Sontarans and a war between them and UNIT began. To Martha, this all felt a bit déjà vu.

* * *

Lana was rather relieved when the Second Doctor's recorder finally left his lips and she understood why the other Doctors, particularly "hers" was so against him playing it. The songs he had played were mostly renditions of various Christmas songs, after his failed attempt at trying to play _I Am The Walrus_ perfectly.

The other Doctors applauded their past and earliest self, but they didn't look like they meant it. Lana also cheered him, a lot more enthusiastically than the Doctors, each of them giving her a strange look as if she had got the wrong idea entirely.

"So, what do you think?" he asked, as he returned the recorder to his pocket.

"I've heard better," the Fourth Doctor told him, continuing to gobble down on jelly babies.

At some point during the performance, the Fourth Doctor had resorted to stealing the Second Doctor's bag of jelly babies at this point, to stay awake.

"I think my spoon playing was better, if you don't mind me saying so," the Seventh Doctor added.

Spoon playing? That was the most bizarre thing that Lana had ever heard the Doctor (well any of them) say, so far.

"You're going to need a bit more practice, 'fraid," the Ninth Doctor suggested.

_You can say that again_, Lana thought.

"And I knew I was right about you not being able to play," the Tenth Doctor mocked.

The Second Doctor looked astonished. It was as if he had expected a good reception from his future selves.

"Well at least I tried," he spoke out, "At least I'm keeping our spirits high, whilst our companions are out there somewhere and I don't see any of you playing your spoons or anything else musical…"

He stopped at the sight at seeing the Fourth Doctor. He had finally been caught in the act.

"And those are my jelly babies!" the Second Doctor said loudly, "You owe me!"

"Well I didn't enjoy them one bit," the Fourth Doctor spat, "I only ate these so I could live to see another day."

The Second and Fourth Doctors were about to argue over the issue of the jelly babies, when they were interrupted.

The metal door opened and three figures walked in. On the left was Mr Ohm, but Lana had no idea who the other two were. The one in the middle was a disfigured looking man and the other was a robot of some sort.

"Doctor," the one in the middle said.

"Yes," all five Doctors replied together.

Mr Ohm accidentally gave a little laugh. The man and the robot gave Ohm a look of disgust.

"Sorry," he said apologetically, "But you know the Doctors. They have wonderful, if quirky sense of humour."

"I am aware of that, Ohm," the man spat, "Now, Doctors, it's time we met face to face and discussed a few things."


	32. Chapter Thirty One

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* * *

**

**Doctor** **Who**

**A Museum of Time Lords**

* * *

_**Chapter Thirty-One**_

_Meeting the Big Bad_

Lana could tell that even though the meeting between the various Doctors, Ohm, the disfigured man and the robot hadn't begun, there was definitely tension in the room. The deformed man smiled towards the five Doctor and raised his hand.

"Please, sit down and make yourselves at home," he told them all.

Lana thought that that was what they'd been doing for a while now. Nevertheless, she complied the orders given and she, as well the other Doctors sat down. The deformed man, Ohm and the robot sat down too, opposite them.

"I take it you're Cothdorte?" the Seventh Doctor enquired, nodding in the direction of the deformed man.

"I am," he responded, "Any other questions?"

"Yes, I think we all have a few questions to ask you," the Ninth Doctor told him, "Like why you've kept us here."

"And in my case, for quite a few months," the Tenth Doctor reminded them all.

Now that she thought about it, Lana wouldn't have minded asking this "Cothdorte" some questions too, but she supposed that this discussion was between the Doctors and Cothdorte. Ohm and the robot were remaining silent for now and she supposed that she had to do the same. For all she knew, they were probably observers.

"No need to hold it against me now, is there?" Cothdorte asked the Tenth Doctor.

"Oh I think he has the right too," the Second Doctor countered.

"Yes, I mean you don't seem to want to invite us all round for tea the friendly way, do you?" the Fourth Doctor raised, "We get snatched out of time, just as we're doing what we do best."

"What, meddling?" Cothdorte asked angrily, "And you do realise those scenarios you found yourselves in were staged. I planned them all, making sure that each of you ended up in each place and manipulating events to end up the way they did."

Three of the Doctors were stunned at this, but the Fourth and Seventh Doctors didn't look as surprised as much as their preceding and succeeding selves did. They took this information as if they'd been told the most boring joke ever.

"If you're the villain of the piece, you'd think you wouldn't reveal your grand master plan too soon now, would you?" the Fourth Doctor pointed out.

"Well spotted," the Seventh Doctor complimented his previous self, which had been a first, "I supposed you were the one who got various threats involved too."

"Exactly," Cothdorte replied, "I needed to make you all feel right at home, with your greatest foes joining in the proceedings and in your ninth self's case, I managed to get him to meet Martha and fight against the Sontarans."

"You met Martha?" the Tenth Doctor asked outraged.

Lana supposed that Martha was an old friend of the Doctor's, but she didn't understand why he was angry. The thing was though, despite the comment being made to the Ninth Doctor, the Tenth Doctor was actually annoyed at Cothdorte.

"You've just complicated the timelines, making my earlier self meeting a future friend of mine," the Tenth Doctor warned.

"That doesn't matter to me," Cothdorte told him, brushing it off, "I can do whatever I want."

The Doctors looked extremely appalled at this comment.

"What gives you the right to mess with time?" the Ninth Doctor asked angrily.

Cothdorte smirked and leaned back in his seat.

"None of your business," Cothdorte told him, "I have my own reasons as to why I use time as well as space as my playground."

"But who are you?" the Fourth Doctor asked, "I don't mean to sound incredibly thick, but who are you really?"

"He's got a point," the Second Doctor added, "After all, we only know you as the brains behind the operation and nothing more."

"You've basically summed up my entire job description," Cothdorte told him, "Mr Ohm here is my second in command and governor of the prison section of this ship. My robotic friend, SOL-3 here is my personal assistant."

There was a short silence. Lana wondered whether she should say something, but not having to listen a longwinded discussion for a time was a nice break. She didn't want to start a debate or anything yet.

"I met you earlier, didn't I?" the Ninth Doctor asked the robot, breaking the silence.

"You did, sir," SOL-3 answered, "Only very briefly, but we did meet."

"And I know Ohm quite well," the Tenth Doctor added, "He's been the only person I've actually been allowed to talk to…"

"Until I arrived," Lana interrupted.

"Yes, I think he was just about to come to you," Ohm butted in.

Lana ignored him. Ohm was scum and she could tell that Cothdorte was too. She didn't know what to think about SOL-3 yet, but he seemed more pleasant than either of the other two.

"I bet you're wondering where your associates are," Cothdorte said.

"Of course we are," the Seventh Doctor answered back, "Besides bickering amongst my various selves, our thoughts are with our companions. Have Jamie, Zoë, Romana and Ace been left to face certain dangers alone?"

"Oh no, I removed them from any danger they faced," Cothdorte informed, "But they aren't any safer where they currently are right now."

"Where are they, Cothdorte?" the Second Doctor asked crossly.

"Yes and get to the point," the Fourth Doctor said impatiently, "I'm getting bored of this."

Cothdorte grinned even more.

"You'll find out soon, won't you?" he asked.

He pulled out something that looked very similar to the Doctor's sonic screwdriver and switched it on. As a crimson light glowed out of its end, the Second, Fourth and Seventh Doctors disappeared, leaving only Lana and the Ninth and Tenth Doctors.

"Where have they gone?" the Tenth Doctor asked furiously.

"Bring them back, Cothdorte!" the Ninth Doctor warned.

"Now that there's three of us on each side, this will be a lot fairer," Cothdorte told them.

Lana didn't know what they Cothdorte was implying, but with the sudden disappearance of three of the Doctors, he had gained the upper hand.

"Arrest them!" Cothdorte commanded.

And to the sudden surprise of both Lana and the two Doctors, Ohm grabbed the two Doctors and SOL-3's metal arms clutched around Lana. Shame, she thought he was okay, before now.

"Take them up to my office," Cothdorte told his two servants, "I'm going to end this, once and for all."


	33. Chapter Thirty Two

**

* * *

**

**Doctor** **Who**

**A Museum of Time Lords**

* * *

_**Chapter Thirty-Two**_

_Different Relationships_

The Seventh Doctor hated being second best to the villain of the piece, especially more so when he didn't have any advantages to use against them. This was the second time that he had been teleported to another place and this time, he was greeted by a familiar sight.

"The Death Zone," he murmured, "Oh, Cothdorte sure knows what he's doing."

Peering through the mist, he saw some dim silver figures. They were Cybermen and they were probably out for revenge. It seemed that the Death Zone was more lenient on allowing powerful races like Daleks and Cybermen in the zone.

However, the Doctor knew that he couldn't stand still, allowing them to see him. He had to get away and fast. Turning around, he began to run, unsure of where he was going but at least it was getting away from the Cybermen. Unfortunately, luck wasn't on the Doctor's side and he slipped and fell down the hill. He thought that he'd got over the comedy style pratfalls, after his last regeneration, which went worse than it should've done.

Slightly annoyed, the Doctor stood up and brushed himself down, just to check that he didn't get any dust on him and just to check if he accidentally got any grass stains. He stopped, however when he noticed two people staring at him. It weren't just any old two people either. It was his former companions, Jamie and Zoë. He wondered what to say to them though. He couldn't reveal their future to them or anything.

"Hello there," the Doctor began, lifting his hat of his head in a sign of greeting.

"Hello," Jamie replied.

"You don't know where we are, do we?" Zoë asked.

The Doctor didn't answer straight away. He had to be sure that he was definitely on the Death Zone. It certainly looked like it, but there was a chance that it could've been staged, like his adventure on the two warships.

"I believe we're on the Death Zone," the Doctor told her.

The Doctor was about to go into greater detail, but stopped when he noticed the Cybermen once more and they were slowly walking down the hill.

"I'll explain more later," the Doctor clarified, "For now, we're in great danger and we need somewhere to retreat to."

Grabbing Jamie and Zoë, the Doctor dragged them both and ran forwards. As they continued to run, the Doctor noticed the Tomb of Rassilon in the distance.

The Doctor forced himself and his former companions to stop, the moment he believed that they were out of the Cybermen's sight. He needed to catch his breath back and he needed to give another quick explanation to Jamie and Zoë, before they continued.

"You see that large building in the distance?" the Doctor asked.

Jamie and Zoë squinted to see the tower ahead.

"Oh aye," Jamie answered.

"I see it too," Zoë responded.

"If we go there, there might be a chance that we'll be that little bit safer," the Doctor explained.

The Doctor took a brisk walk and both Jamie and Zoë followed.

"What were we running from?" Jamie asked.

"Cybermen," the Doctor told him.

"Oh no, not them again," Zoë moaned.

"First Daleks, then them," Jamie groaned.

"Now now, think positive," the Doctor scolded, "The sooner we get to the tower, the sooner we'll be in a better spot."

At least that was what he hoped.

* * *

The Fourth Doctor had been staggering around this strange place for some time now. Unaware that he was going to be teleported so suddenly, the effects must've overwhelmed him. At least Romana wasn't here to see this, but unfortunately someone was there to see him at his worst.

"Oi you!"

The Doctor looked around to see who had shouted and it was a young woman, by the looks of things.

"Were you talking to me?" the Doctor posed.

"Obviously!" the woman yelled.

"I hope you don't mind me saying this, but you really need to calm down," the Doctor suggested, "I've known women a bit like you before and trust me, they're pretty scary."

"Look, just who are you?" the woman asked.

"I'm the Doctor," the Doctor told her loudly, "And who might you be?"

"You're not the Doctor!" the woman shouted.

"Yes I am!" the Doctor shouted back, "Now, if you're looking for some strange little man with a ridiculous pullover, who calls himself the Doctor, then you're not going to find him here, so you'll have to do with me, won't you?"

The woman's face fell.

"How do you know about the Doctor?" she asked.

"Because I'm him," the Doctor told her, "It's a little hard to explain, but the Doctor, you know is who I'll eventually become."

He shuddered at this thought.

"And I'll eventually meet you, Ace," the Doctor continued.

"You know my name?" Ace asked.

"Of course," the Doctor told her, "When I met up with your Doctor, I got into contact with him, shall we say and I found out a little bit about you."

Ace, despite relaxing a little, still looked uncertain.

"Why should I trust you?" she asked, "You could be anyone, someone who knows the Doctor really well and is using his identity to get to me."

"I wouldn't do that," the Doctor tried to assure her, "Now, if you'd like to leave this place as much as I do, then you and I can team up and find your Doctor again."

"Okay," Ace answered, "But if you do anything…"

"You'll start kicking and screaming, yes I know," the Doctor interrupted, "There's really no need, because I am telling the truth. I am the Doctor, just not the one that you know."

The Doctor suddenly realised where he was. At least one good thing had come out of his education at the Academy on Gallifrey. This was the Death Zone, the one place he had never expected to end up.

"Now come on, before…"

"Exterminate, exterminate, exterminate!" some familiar metallic voices bellowed.

The Daleks had surrounded the Doctor and Ace and they looked ready to exterminate on the spot.

* * *

The Second Doctor had finally reached the Tomb of Rassilon. He had been walking through the Death Zone and after a long and tedious trek; he had finally made it up the many floors and to the top of the tower, where the Great Rassilon himself slept. Resisting the urge not to look directly into Rassilon's casket, he waited there, wondering if he'd be reunited with his succeeding selves.

Someone walked into the room where Rasillon's casket lay. A woman.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"What am I doing here?" the Doctor asked back, astounded, "I could be asking you that same question."

"I'm Romanadvoratrelundar," she answered, "Time Lady."

That name sounded familiar to the Doctor. It must've been when he had got into contact with his other selves and the Fourth Doctor was travelling with a Romana.

"Romana, for short?" the Doctor asked.

"Yes, that's what I'm called by…" Romana began.

"The Doctor?" the Doctor asked, "Because I'm him and as a Time Lady, you should know all about…"

"Regeneration?" Romana interrupted, "Yes, I've been through one already. I'm the second."

The Doctor gave a quick chuckle.

"Yes and I'm the Second Doctor," he told her delighted, "Now, we need to get to…"

"Oh, Doctor, you really are a fool," a voice said.

The Doctor and Romana turned to see someone standing by them. This was another familiar figure too, but he couldn't remember who it was. It seemed to be an face from the past, but not exactly that.

"Who are you and want do you want?" Romana asked.

"I'm the Master and you will obey me," the Master warned.

"No, they're going to obey me," someone else said gruffly, "I'm the Master and you will obey me!"

"Dear me, this is going to be another of those days," the Doctor muttered.


	34. Chapter Thirty Three

**

* * *

**

**Doctor** **Who**

**A Museum of Time Lords**

* * *

_**Chapter Thirty-Three**_

_A Museum of Time Lords_

Ever since Lana had been involved with the Doctor, corridors seemed to be a recurring thing and every so often, she seemed to be walking up and down them to various places.

Cothdorte was at the front of the group, with his servants, Mr Ohm and SOL-3 behind him, holding Lana and the two Doctors, preventing them from trying to make an escape.

Soon, they arrived at another metal door. Lana saw Cothdorte standing stiffly and he looked as if he had the feeling that someone was watching him. In any case, Lana was watching him, but only because she was wondering what was taking so long. Cothdorte appeared to be typing in some sort of code, which opened the door the second he stood away from it.

Cothdorte quickly walked across the room, towards a desk and he sat down behind it.

"You may let them go," Cothdorte told both Ohm and SOL-3.

They both released their grip on Lana and the two Doctors and stood behind Cothdorte. Like hawks, they watched the three of them standing in the centre of the room, awaiting whatever was going to happen to them.

Lana was tempted to try and escape, but she supposed that Cothdorte had locked the door and escaping was impossible, without some sort of plan. Perhaps one of the two Doctors would do something soon.

Cothdorte appeared to look rather smug, as he began to lie back in his chair, surveying Lana and the two Doctors. He was in full control now and nobody could take his reign of terror away from him.

"Where are my… I mean our other selves?" the Tenth Doctor asked.

"I've just sent them away for a while, whilst I discuss various matters with you two," Cothdorte told him, "Being as you're both more recent Doctors, it only made sense that I talked to you and none of your three earlier selves."

"So what are you going to do to us?" Lana asked.

"He's probably just going to talk us to death," the Ninth Doctor joked.

"Silence!" Cothdorte snapped, "I don't have time for messing around. We have important issues to deal with and the sooner we sort them out, the sooner I return Lana home, reunite the two of you with your other selves."

Cothdorte made a gesture at the two Doctors.

"And give you all back what you crave most of all," he continued, "Freedom."

Unexpectedly, the Ninth Doctor turned around and whipped out his sonic screwdriver. Lana forgot that it hadn't been taken off him and she hoped that it would get them out of this place. This time, however it wasn't doing its miraculous work and nothing was happening. Cothdorte gave a deep laugh.

"You can't get away," Cothdorte told them, "So don't bother trying and for your pathetic attempt, I'm going to make sure that you don't have an opportunity to try again."

Lifting up his own sonic device, Cothdorte pointed it at the Ninth Doctor and switched it on. The Doctor was forced backwards to the wall and large steel handcuffs fastened him to it. The Tenth Doctor looked outraged, but with nothing of his own to use, he couldn't do anything to save his previous self.

"Whilst you're in my domain, you're going to follow my every command," Cothdorte cautioned, "If you don't do anything stupid, I may just let you all go, when the time draws nearer."

Lana was getting rather tired of this. What did Cothdorte need them for? If this was about him and the Doctors, why did she have to be there? And why couldn't he just get to the point?

* * *

The Second Doctor was aware that his future self had already met two versions of the Master and that he had escaped their evil tactics. Would he and Romana be so lucky to flee from their current plan?

"Let's bring your other selves and their companions here, shall we?" the corpse Master asked.

And unknown to the Doctor, his future selves and their companions appeared. Two of the companions also included Jamie and Zoë.

"Doctor!" they shouted in surprise.

Similar cries of his name could be heard, as Romana was reunited with her teeth and curls chap (the Fourth Doctor) and another young woman got back with her little man (the Seventh Doctor).

"Enough of this," the other Master told them all, "We've saved your neck from Daleks and Cybermen, but now you'll have to face our wrath for all the times you've made us look like failures."

"That's because you are failures," the Seventh Doctor retorted, "Every scheme you have planned, you always fail and I always defeat you. And why are you working together now? You were fighting each other in a war, back on the warships."

The Fourth Doctor let out a little chuckle.

"Sorry, it's just very amusing to hear that two of the same person were fighting each other," he explained.

"Even I'm not that bad with myself," the Second Doctor pointed out.

"Be quiet!" the corpse Master shouted, "It's time to get revenge on you all for thwarting my universal domination."

"Now that we're free from Cothdorte, we can do whatever we like," the other Master added.

The Doctor stopped. Cothdorte really had been in control of the Masters and probably the Daleks and Cybermen too.

But before he could say anything, the Doctor felt a familiar presence and he knew where he was going to end up next.

* * *

To Lana's surprise, she saw three faint figures appear in front of her. It was the other three Doctors that Cothdorte had made disappear some moments ago. Alongside them, several other people appeared.

The Fourth Doctor took a quick moment to release the Ninth Doctor from the wall. The Doctors all stood together, with Lana and their many companions by their side.

"I love a nice reunion," Cothdorte explained, unthreatened by the large group, "Now that we're all back together again, I can explain things through properly."

Lana sighed. Finally, he was going to get the point and hopefully, allow them all to leave.

"You've all been a part of a museum," he began, "My museum. A Museum of Time Lords."


	35. Chapter Thirty Four

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* * *

**

**Doctor** **Who**

**A Museum of Time Lords**

* * *

_**Chapter Thirty-Four**_

_Cothdorte_

The room felt rather crowded with so many people. Lana could tell that Cothdorte was going to have to explain everything to a number of people.

"Doctor," Cothdorte began, nodding towards the Tenth Doctor, "You and you're ninth self have kept a secret from your three predecessors, haven't you?"

Lana had an idea what Cothdorte was referring to, but he wouldn't, would he? He wouldn't force the Doctor to tell everyone about the war he had fought in, would he? Then again, with someone as evil and sadistic as Cothdorte, he'd probably do anything to cause chaos and controversy.

"Doctor?" Cothdorte repeated, "Tell your other selves what you got yourself involved in."

Lana could swear that she saw tears in the Doctor's eyes. He was shaking and refusing to speak.

"I was involved in a war," the Doctor began, "A Time War."

"A war against the Daleks," the Ninth Doctor added, "It ravaged across time and space and in order to defeat the Daleks, the ultimate sacrifice had to be made."

"And I destroyed Gallifrey," the Tenth Doctor finished off.

The Second and Fourth Doctors didn't seem to take the news that Gallifrey was going to be destroyed in their future too well. The Seventh Doctor meanwhile remained silent.

"Gallifrey can't be gone," the Fourth Doctor muttered.

"Yes, the planet is out there, right now, look!" the Second Doctor protested.

Everyone walked towards the large window nearby. The Second Doctor pointed at Gallifrey, which was a fiery looking planet.

"Romana," Lana heard the Fourth Doctor whisper, "What do you think about this war business?"

"I'm not sure what to think," Romana told him, "But it is possible that our people would get into a war with another race."

"It looks as if you all have quite a bit to discuss," Cothdorte interrupted, "I'm going to allow the Doctors a short moment to discuss about this."

"Then Romana is coming too," the Fourth Doctor demanded, "She's a Time Lady and she'll probably be the one who'll be able to keep the peace between myself."

Lana rolled her eyes at this pun.

"Very well," Cothdorte agreed, "See you all shortly."

Cothdorte lifted his sonic device up and pressed a button. As the Doctors and Romana began to disappear, Lana heard her Doctor say:

"Not teleportation again."

* * *

The Doctor recognised this room straight away. This was the cell that he had been trapped in for a few months, alone and living the slow life. It seemed rather fitting that Cothdorte had decided to put them in here to discuss about the Time War.

"Why?" the Ninth Doctor asked bitterly, "Why did he force you to tell our secret?"

The same question had been in the Doctor's mind, as well.

"I'm not sure," the Tenth Doctor replied sadly, "But whatever reason he had for it, was to cause more trouble between us."

"My thoughts exactly," the Fourth Doctor told them all.

"We shouldn't argue about this," the Second Doctor suggested, "He's only making us suffer something that three fifths of us haven't been through yet. He's only doing it to avert the blame from himself."

"Yes, now that is a good point," the Seventh Doctor agreed.

"Are you suggesting that this Cothdorte has done something much worse than getting involved in a war and destroying Gallifrey?" Romana asked.

"Precisely," the Second Doctor answered.

"We just need to figure out what," the Fourth Doctor told them.

"Well whatever it is, we're going to make him confront it," the Ninth Doctor proposed.

"He's already said that he's manipulated our adventures to lead us to this point," the Seventh Doctor said.

"Then we need to think up something to say to him," the Tenth Doctor advised, "Something that will put him in a corner and make him tell us. Once we've sorted him out, Allons-y from there."

The other Doctors and Romana looked at him.

"What's wrong with using a bit of French?" the Tenth Doctor asked.

"Nothing," the Fourth Doctor told him, "In fact, I've decided that Paris was the better place to go on holiday to."

The Tenth Doctor felt nostalgic at this point. Old memories of fun times were slipping back into his mind.

"Time to discuss a plan, I think," the Seventh Doctor recommended, "And in case Cothdorte is spying on us, we should go into contact. Agreed?"

"Agreed," the other Doctors replied, joining in.

"Oh and sorry, Romana," the Fourth Doctor said apologetically, "We're probably going to be a while."

The Tenth Doctor heard Romana sigh and he noticed that she'd crossed her arms. That was the typical Romana that he had once known.

"Contact," all the Doctors said together.

The Doctor closed his eyes and he began to feel his mind link with his predecessors once again.

* * *

The Doctors and Romana had been away for a quarter of an hour. Lana was wondering how much longer she'd have to wait, until Cothdorte brought them back with his own sonic device.

It seemed that Cothdorte had got bored now, without the Doctors and Lana noticed him flick the switch on his sonic device and the Doctors and Romana returned.

"We were having a conversation," the Ninth Doctor snapped.

"I couldn't care less," Cothdorte retorted, "I've grown tired of you all having moments of angst. You're not teenagers anymore and you should all know better."

Lana remembered her days as a teenager. They were some of the best years of her life and if she could, she'd have easily lived out those days again. Part of the reason she had preferred her younger days was because at least back then, technology was working on her planet.

But was it really necessary trying to insult the Doctors, when three of them (well, perhaps just the two of them, judging by the Seventh Doctor's reaction to the news wasn't as bad as the other two Doctors) were trying to deal with the destruction of their home world.

"Whatever you tried to do, it failed," the Seventh Doctor told Cothdorte, "You tried to make us hate each other, because of some secret that my two future selves had to keep. They were wise to keep it from us."

"Yeah, spoilers and all that," the Tenth Doctor added, lightly.

"Well it was only fair that you knew," Cothdorte replied.

"You aren't doing very well, are you?" the Fourth Doctor asked, "Just give it up."

Cothdorte gritted his teeth and turned to face the Second Doctor.

"You!" Cothdorte shouted suddenly, pointing at the Second Doctor, "You were always good with rearranging words! Reveal to your other selves and everyone else in this room who I am!"

Everyone's eyes averted from Cothdorte to the Second Doctor. He didn't know what to say, but then his face fell and with everyone looking at him, he began to shake under the pressure of revealing who Cothdorte really was. Everyone was waiting for the moment of truth. Who was Cothdorte?

"He is the Doctor," the Second Doctor explained.


	36. Epilogue

**

* * *

**

**Doctor** **Who**

**A Museum of Time Lords**

* * *

_**Epilogue**_

_The Mystery Ends_

Lana was a bit shocked; to say the least and so was everyone else. Out of everyone though, the Doctors were the most shocked to hear this. Even the Second Doctor had shocked himself by revealing Cothdorte's secret.

"Now it all makes sense," the Seventh Doctor whispered, breaking the silence, "Cothdorte equals Doctor. Rearrange the letters in Cothdorte and you get the Doctor."

As Lana thought about it, she should've noticed it the moment she heard his name. It was so obvious now. One thing she did notice was that SOL-3 had disappeared. She had no idea if anyone else had noticed, but she decided not to say anything. Things were just getting interesting around here to distract them all that one of the two servants had disappeared.

"As always, you finally get to heart of the mystery," Cothdorte told the Seventh Doctor, before muttering, "You should know as I always did."

"But how can he be me?" the Fourth Doctor asked outraged, "Look at him, he has no sense of dignity, pride or fashion sense. And if you really are me, why would you put yourself through constant torment?"

"Because you're not just me," the Ninth Doctor informed him, before looking at Cothdorte, "He wanted me killed in the past. You're the Valeyard."

"With an anagram for an identity," the Tenth Doctor added.

Cothdorte gave a look towards the Tenth Doctor, before he spoke again.

"Yes, I'm you," Cothdorte continued, "And the real reason that I brought you all here was to keep you all in suspended animation in the museum and I'd use each of your bodies to stay alive for a really long time."

"You're letting all of your secrets out now," the Second Doctor said.

"Well it's about time you knew," Cothdorte snapped.

"We're going to stop you, Cothdorte," the Tenth Doctor notified.

"And how will you do that?" Cothdorte asked, "Didn't you know? This is my universe, I can make sure that Daleks, Cybermen, the Master, Sontarans, Malavice and many more of your foes come to my defence and prevent you from doing anything."

"I think you've doubted your closest allies," the Seventh Doctor told him, "They're no longer serving your cause."

Ohm grabbed Cothdorte and pushed him to the ground.

"I never liked this job!" Ohm shouted, "You never treated me with the respect I deserved!"

"Shut up you snivelling worm!" Cothdorte shouted.

Unexpectedly, the two of them faded away.

"Where did they go?" Lana asked.

"Who knows?" the Tenth Doctor answered, "But wherever it is, I'm sure that it'll result in their death. You see I saw Ohm re-programme Cothdorte's sonic screwdriver when he wasn't looking and he probably made sure they ended up somewhere where Cothdorte couldn't do anything else to cause any harm in the universe.

Lana thought that Cothdorte's demise had been a bit of a copout, but nevertheless, it was the end of his reign of terror. Nobody had to worry about him anymore.

"And without this universe's creator, this universe can be destroyed for good," the Seventh Doctor told them all, "That way, nobody else can get their hands on this and use it for their evil master plans."

"I better find my TARDIS," the Tenth Doctor said suddenly, as he ran over to the desk and took out his equipment from it, "And then I'll have to find a way to return you all to your personal time streams. And quickly, before time runs out for us all."

* * *

After some searching, the Doctor and his large team of previous selves and past companions, they finally found the room where the TARDIS was and luckily for them, a teleportation device could be programmed to take the others back to their time streams.

The Doctor looked fondly at his previous selves. It didn't matter whether he got on with them or not, meeting himself was always a good experience. He just hoped he didn't have to go through it for a while now. Meeting himself should be like Christmas, an experience that comes around once every year (or in his case, one incarnation at a time).

"Well, I suppose, Jamie, Zoë and I should be off," the Second Doctor said.

The Doctor and the earliest of his predecessors (that were in the room) shook hands. Standing back, the Doctor stood tall and proud, in complete admiration.

"Who knows what you'll encounter next, eh?" the Doctor asked happily, "One week it's Daleks, the next it's Cybermen, both of which you encountered quite frequently, especially the latter."

"No need to tell me my future yet," the Second Doctor warned.

The Doctor should've known. Ever since he had learnt about spoilers, he was going to have to keep his big mouth shut and it was going to prevent him from revealing the best bits to his past lives.

"I'll keep that in mind," the Doctor replied.

The Second Doctor led his two companions to the teleportation pad that was on the floor. They each waved to everyone else, before fading from sight forever.

The Fourth Doctor was next to give his personal goodbyes to the Doctor.

"Well, it's been fun," he said, "I don't know what to think of you, but I'm sure that he majority of the time, you'll be a good sequel to me."

The Doctor grinned and he watched as the Fourth Doctor and Romana vanished also. The Seventh Doctor began to say his goodbyes.

"Meeting myself has always been a fun," he began, "And a tiring one. In any case, it was an enjoyable experience and…"

"Come on now, enough of your speeches," the Doctor interrupted, "We'll be here all night otherwise."

The Seventh Doctor disapproved of being butted in, but he and Ace disappeared too. Now it was the Ninth Doctor's turn to say his goodbyes. The Doctor had a feeling this wasn't going to go as well as the others.

"I'm ashamed to admit it, but you're good," he said sheepishly, "In some ways… Perhaps being a pretty boy isn't too bad."

The Tenth Doctor stifled a laugh and watched his previous self, fade away. Lana approached his side and looked at the now deserted area.

"What now?" she asked, "Shouldn't I get on the teleportation device too?"

"You could if you want or I can take you home in my ship, whichever you prefer," the Doctor suggested.

"In your time and space machine?" Lana asked, "Sure why not. So, where to next?"

The Doctor had only one answer to this question.

"Here, there and everywhere."

* * *

**The End**

* * *


End file.
